JP4117019B2 - Recording medium, reproducing apparatus, recording method, reproducing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is an invention belonging to the technical field of playback control technology that simultaneously executes playback of digitized video and execution of an application. The playback control technology is applied to a recording medium, a playback device for consumer use, and a program. It is deeply related to applied technology when applied.

  In the movie business using a recording medium, there is a sales strategy of recording and selling a digitized movie work and an application for online shopping on the same recording medium. If a system that allows online sales of character goods related to movie works is incorporated into a single recording medium, the sales of character goods can be increased due to the synergistic effect of movie works and applications. There is a prospect on the producer side. In realizing such contents, a recording medium and a reproducing apparatus that will appear in the future are required to provide an application execution environment with a higher degree of freedom.

  Here, in order to realize the simultaneous execution of the digitized movie work and the application for online shopping, a technique for operating the application in accordance with the reproduction of the digital video is required. As a technique for operating a Java application in accordance with playback of a digital stream, “signaling” in the DVB-MHP standard is known. Signaling defines when the application should be started and ended on the playback time axis of the digital stream, and at this point, information called AIT (Application Information Table) is sent to this AIT. This is to cause the playback apparatus to perform the control according to the above.

In this background art, there are known literature inventions shown below.
Patent No. 2813245

  However, the playback progress of the disc content may be reversed on the playback time axis. Backward means that the time axis advances in the reverse direction by rewinding. This reverse and progress are repeated many times before and after the time when the application should be started and when it should be terminated. A load is generated.

An object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium capable of avoiding generation of an excessive read load even if reproduction is reversed in the reproduction time axis.

In order to solve the above problems, a recording medium according to the present invention is a recording medium on which an index table, an application, and an operation mode object are recorded, and the index table corresponds to a title and an operation mode object. Paste with indicate to the operation mode object that corresponds to each title, it indicates which of a movie mode and the virtual machine mode, the operation mode object includes one for movie mode, a virtual machine mode The operation mode object for the movie mode includes a navigation command representing a control procedure, the operation mode object for the virtual machine mode includes an application management table, and the application is a programming language for the virtual machine. Described The application management table shows one or more applications to be controlled by managing the title corresponding to the operation mode object as a life cycle, and the application shown in the application management table is The application is characterized by being an application that is not automatically activated but can be activated in response to an application call from another application.

Since the application management table indicates one or more applications to be controlled by managing the title corresponding to the operation mode object as the life cycle , even if the title is wound in the time axis of one title. Even if there is a return, the playback does not go backward to the previous title before the title selection . The title is “a unit in which reversal of playback is not possible”, and if the life cycle of the application is defined based on this title, reading into the work memory and discarding are not repeated many times. Since there is no repetition of reading and discarding, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of an extra reading load.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, embodiments of the playback apparatus according to the present invention will be described. First, among the implementation actions of the playback apparatus according to the present invention, the mode of use action will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a form of usage of the playback apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, the playback apparatus according to the present invention is a playback apparatus 200 that forms a home theater system together with a television 300 and a remote controller 400.

The BD-ROM 100 is used for supplying movie works to a home theater system formed by the playback device 200, the remote controller 300, and the television 400.
This completes the description of the usage mode of the playback apparatus according to the present invention.
Next, a BD-ROM that is a recording medium that is a target of playback of the playback apparatus according to the present invention will be described. The disc content supplied to the home theater system by the BD-ROM is composed of a plurality of titles that can be branched from each other. Each title is composed of one or more playlists and a dynamic control procedure using the playlists.

A playlist is an access unit on a BD-ROM that includes one or more digital streams and playback paths in the digital streams, and has the concept of “time axis”. Since the above playlist and dynamic control procedures are included, the title combines the concept of a time axis peculiar to a digital stream and the nature of a computer program.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a file / directory structure in the BD-ROM. In this figure, the BD-ROM has a BDMV directory under the Root directory.

  The BDMV directory contains files with the extension bdmv (index.bdmv, MovieObject.bdmv) and files with the extension BD-J (00001.BD-J, 00002.BD-J, 00003.BD -J). Under the BDMV directory, there are further four subdirectories called a PLAYLIST directory, a CLIPINF directory, a STREAM directory, and a BDAR directory.

In the PLAYLIST directory, there are files (00001.mpls, 00002.mpls, 00003mpls) with extensions mpls.
In the CLIPINF directory, there are files (00001.clpi, 00002.clpi, 00003.clpi) with extensions clpi.
In the STREAM directory, there are files (00001.m2ts, 00002.m2ts, 00003.m2ts) with extensions m2ts.

In the BDAR directory, there are files (00001.jar, 00002.jar, 00003jar) with extension jar. With the above directory structure, it can be seen that a plurality of different types of files are arranged on the BD-ROM.
In the figure, files with the extension .m2ts (00001.m2ts, 00002.m2ts, 00003.m2ts...) Store AVClips. There are types of AVClip such as MainCLip and SubClip. MainCLip is a digital stream obtained by multiplexing a plurality of elementary streams such as a video stream, an audio stream, a presentation graphics stream, and an interactive graphics stream.

The SubClip is a digital stream corresponding to only one elementary stream such as an audio stream, a graphics stream, a text subtitle stream, or the like.
Files with the extension “clpi” (00001.clpi, 00002.clpi, 00003.clpi...) Are management information corresponding to each AVClip on a one-to-one basis. Because of the management information, the Clip information has information such as a stream encoding format, frame rate, bit rate, and resolution in the AVClip, and an EP_map indicating a cueing position.

Files with the extension “mpls” (00001.mpls, 00002.mpls, 00003.mpls...) Are files that store playlist information. The playlist information is information that defines a playlist with reference to the AVClip. The playlist is composed of MainPath information, PLMark information, and SubPath information.
MainPath information includes a plurality of pieces of PlayItem information. A PlayItem is a playback section defined by specifying In_Time and Out_Time on one or more AVClip time axes. By arranging a plurality of PlayItem information, a playlist (PL) consisting of a plurality of playback sections is defined. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between AVClip and PL. The first level shows the time axis of AVClip, and the second level shows the time axis of PL. The PL information includes three pieces of PlayItem information, PlayItem # 1, # 2, and # 3, and three playback sections are defined by the In_time and Out_time of these PlayItems # 1, # 2, and # 3. . When these playback sections are arranged, a time axis different from the AVClip time axis is defined. This is the PL time axis shown in the second row. In this way, the definition of PlayItem information makes it possible to define a time axis that is different from AVClip.

  The designation for AVClip is one in principle, but there may be a batch designation for a plurality of AVClips. This collective designation is made by a plurality of Clip_Information_file_name in the PlayItem information. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing batch designation made by four Clip_Information_file_names. In the figure, the first to fourth stages show four AVClip time axes (AVClip # 1, # 2, # 3, and # 4 time axes), and the fifth stage shows the PL time axis. . These four time axes are designated by the four Clip_Information_file_names included in the PlayItem information. By doing so, four playback sections that can be alternatively played back are defined by In_time and Out_time of PlayItem. As a result, on the PL time axis, a section (so-called multi-angle section) consisting of a plurality of switchable angle videos is defined.

  The PLmark information is information that designates an arbitrary section of the PL time axis as a chapter. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing chapter definition by PLmark. In the figure, the first level shows the AVClip time axis, and the second level shows the PL time axis. Arrows pk1, 2 in the figure indicate PlayItem specification (ref_to_PlayItem_Id) in PLmark and temporary point specification (mark_time_stamp). With these specifications, three chapters (Chapter # 1, # 2, # 3) are defined on the PL time axis.

  The SubPath information includes a plurality of SubPlayItem information. SubPlayItem information defines a playback section by specifying In_Time and Out_Time on the time axis of SubClip. SubPlayItem information can also be specified to synchronize the playback section on the SubClip time axis with the PL time axis. By this synchronization specification, the PL time axis and the SubPlayItem information time axis advance in synchronization. become. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the playback section definition and synchronization designation on the SubPlayItem time axis. In the figure, the first level shows the PL time axis, and the second level shows the SubPlayItem time axis. In the figure, SubPlayItem.IN_time indicates the start point of the playback section, and SubPlayItem.Out_time indicates the end point of the playback section. Thus, it can be seen that the playback section is also defined on the SubClip time axis. In arrow Sn1, Sync_PlayItem_Id indicates synchronization specification for PlayItem, and in arrow Sn2, sync_start_PTS_of_PlayItem indicates specification at one point on the PlayItem on the PL time axis.

  A feature of playlist information in BD-ROM is that it enables the definition of a multi-angle section that enables switching of a plurality of AVClips and a synchronization section that can synchronize AVClip-SubClip. The above Clip information and playlist information are classified as “static scenarios”. This is because the above-described Clip information and playlist information define a PL that is a static playback unit. This completes the explanation of the static scenario.

  Next, the “dynamic scenario” will be described. A dynamic scenario is scenario data that dynamically defines playback control of an AVClip. “Dynamically” means that the content of playback control is changed by a state change in the playback device or a key event from the user. In the BD-ROM, two modes are assumed as operating environments for this playback control. The first is an operating environment that is very similar to the operating environment of a DVD player, and is a command-based execution environment. The second is the operating environment of the Java virtual machine. The first of these two operating environments is called HDMV mode. The second is called BD-J mode. Because there are these two operating environments, the dynamic scenario is described assuming either of these operating environments. A dynamic scenario assuming the HDMV mode is called a Movie object and is defined by management information. On the other hand, a dynamic scenario assuming the BD-J mode is called a BD-J object.

First, the Movie object will be described.
<Movie object>
The Movie object is a component of “title” and is stored in the file MovieObject.bdmv. FIG. 7A shows the internal structure of the Movie object. The Movie object is composed of command information including attribute information and a plurality of navigation commands.

  The attribute information is information (resume_intention_flag) indicating whether or not playback is resumed after MenuCall when MenuCall is performed on the PL time axis, information (menu_call_mask) indicating whether MenuCall is masked on the PL time axis, It consists of information (title_search_flag) indicating whether to mask the title search. The Movie object can have two properties of “time axis” + “programmatic control”, and various types of titles such as those for executing the main part reproduction are described by the Movie object.

The navigation command string is composed of command strings that realize conditional branching, setting of a status register in the playback device, acquisition of a setting value of the status register, and the like. The commands that can be described in the Movie object are shown below.
PlayPL command Format: PlayPL (first argument, second argument)
The first argument is a playlist number, which can specify a PL to be reproduced. The second argument can specify the playback start position using PlayItems included in the PL, arbitrary time in the PL, Chapter, and Mark.

PlayPLatPlayItem (), PlayPL function that specifies the playback start position on the PL time axis by PlayItem,
PlayPLatChapter (), a PlayPL function that specifies the playback start position on the PL time axis by Chapter
A PlayPL function in which a playback start position on the PL time axis is specified by time information is referred to as PlayPLatSpecified Time ().
JMP command Format: JMP argument
The JMP command is a branch that discards the current dynamic scenario halfway (discard) and executes the branch destination dynamic scenario as an argument. The JMP instruction format includes a direct reference that directly specifies a branch destination dynamic scenario and an indirect reference that indirectly refers to a branch destination dynamic scenario.
The description of the navigation command in the Movie object is very similar to the description method of the navigation command in the DVD, so that the work of porting the disc content on the DVD to the BD-ROM can be performed efficiently. Regarding the Movie object, there is a prior art described in the following International Publication. Please refer to this International Publication for details.

International Publication No.W0 2004/074976

This completes the description of the Movie object. Next, the BD-J object will be described.

<BD-J object>
Files with the extension BD-J (00001.BD-J, 00002.BD-J, 00003.BD-J) constitute a BD-J object. A BD-J object is a BD-J mode dynamic scenario written in a Java programming environment. FIG. 7B shows the internal structure of the BD-J object. As shown in the figure, the BD-J object includes attribute information and an application management table similar to the Movie object. The BD-J object is almost the same as the Movie object in that it has attribute information. The difference from the Movie object is that the command is not described directly in the BD-J object. That is, in the Movie object, the control procedure is directly described by the navigation command. On the other hand, in the BD-J object, the control procedure is indirectly defined by defining on the application management table the Java application whose title is the life cycle. By such indirect regulation, it is possible to efficiently share the control procedure, that is, to share the control procedure in a plurality of titles.

  FIG. 7C shows the internal structure of the Java application. In this figure, the application is composed of one or more xlet programs loaded in the heap area (also called work memory) of the virtual machine. In this work memory, one or more threads are operating, and an application is composed of an xlet program and a thread loaded in the work memory. The above is the configuration of the application.

The Java archive files (00001.jar, 00002.jar) stored in the BDAR directory under the BDMV directory correspond to the entity of this application. The Java archive file is described below.
Java archive files (00001.jar, 00002.jar) are archive files that store programs and data that constitute a Java application. FIG. 8A is a diagram showing programs and data stored in an archive file. The data in this figure is a collection of a plurality of files in which the directory structure shown in the frame is arranged by a java archiver. The directory structure shown in the frame consists of the root directory, java directory, and image directory. Common.pkg is located in the root directory, aaa.class and bbb.class are located in the java directory, and menu.jpg is located in the image directory. ing. A java archive file can be obtained by putting these together with a java archiver. Such data is expanded when read from the BD-ROM to the cache, and is handled as a plurality of files arranged in a directory on the cache. The 5-digit numerical value “xxxxx” in the file name of the Java archive file indicates the application ID (applicationID). When this Java archive file is read into the cache, by referring to the numerical value in this file name, it is possible to take out the program and data constituting an arbitrary Java application.

One file that can be combined into a Java archive file is the xlet program.
The xlet program is a Java program that can use a JMF (Java Media FrameWork) interface. The xlet program includes a plurality of functions such as EventListner that receives key events, and performs processing based on the received key events according to a method such as JMF.

  FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating an example of an xlet program. JMF A “BD: //00001.mpls”; is a method that instructs the Java virtual machine to generate a player instance for playing back a PL. A.play is a method that commands the JMF player instance to play. Such JMF player instance generation is performed based on the JMF library. The description of the xlet program is not limited to the BD-ROM PL, but is a description of JMF that can be applied to all content with a time axis. Since such a description is possible, it is possible to encourage a software house skilled in Java programming to create a BD-J object.

  JumpTItle (); in FIG. 8B is a function API call. This function API instructs the playback device to branch to another title (title # 1 in the figure). Here, the function API is an API (Appliation Interface) supplied by the BD-ROM playback device. In addition to the JumpTitle command, processing specific to the BD-ROM playback device can be described in the xlet program by calling the function API.

In BD-J mode, PL playback is defined by the JMF interface. Since this JMF player instance defines the PL time axis, the title time axis is determined from the title having this JMF player instance. Also
In BD-J mode, branching from title to title is defined by a call to JumpTitleAPI. Since the JumpTitle API call defines the end point of the title, the JMF player instance and the application having the JumpTitle API call regulate the start and end of the title in the BD-J mode. Such an application is called a main part reproduction application.

  This completes the description of the dynamic scenario in the BD-J mode. The dynamic scenario in the BD-J mode defines a title that combines PL playback and programmatic control. In the present embodiment, the programs and data constituting the application are collected in a Java archive file, but may be an LZH file or a zip file.

<Title time axis>
Now that the explanation of the static scenario and the dynamic scenario constituting the title has been completed, what time axis is defined by these will be described. The time axis defined by the title is called the “title time axis”. The title time axis is constituted by a PL that is instructed to be played by a Movie object or a BD-J object. Here, an example is a title as shown in FIG. This title is a series of titles of top menu → title # 1 → title # 2 → top menu, top menu → title # 3 → top menu. Of these titles, if title # 1 is for PlayList # 1, PlayList # 2, title # 2 is for PlayList # 3, and title # 3 is for playback of PlayList # 4, as shown in FIG. 9B, PlayList # 1. Title # 1 has a time axis that is the sum of the timelines of PlayList # 2. Similarly, title # 2 has a time axis consisting of the PlayList # 3 time axis, and title # 3 has a time axis consisting of the PlayList # 4 time axis. Although seamless playback is guaranteed on the PL time axis in these title time axes, seamless playback is not required between title time axes. In operating a Java application, a period (service period) during which the Java application may exist on the work memory of the virtual machine must be defined on such a title time axis. When operating a Java application in the BD-J mode, the service period of the Java application must be defined on the time axis that branches from each other. The definition of this service period is a point to keep in mind when programming for BD-ROM.

Finally, the IndexTable stored in index.bdmv will be described. IndexTable is a table that associates title numbers with Movie objects and BD-J objects, and is an indirect reference table that is referenced when branching from a dynamic scenario to a dynamic scenario. The IndexTable consists of an Index for each of a plurality of labels. Each index describes an identifier of a dynamic scenario corresponding to the label. By referring to such an IndexTable, it is possible to realize a branch without strictly distinguishing differences between Movie objects and BD-J objects. Details of the IndexTable are described in the following International Publications. For details, see this publication.

International Publication WO 2004/025651 A1 Publication

This completes the description of the files recorded on the BD-ROM.

<Application management table>
As mentioned above, JMF player instances and applications that have JumpTitleAPI calls regulate the title time axis. However, if you run other applications that do not have JMF player instance or JumpTitleAPI calls on the title time axis, It is important to clearly define the “service start and end points” where the application service starts from the axis and where the application service ends. In the present embodiment, the period from when a service by an application starts to when it ends is defined as “application survival”. Information for defining the existence of the application exists in the application management table in the BD-J object. Hereinafter, the application management table will be described in more detail.

  The application management table (AMT) is information indicating applications that can survive on the work memory of the virtual machine on the title time axis of each title. Survival in the work memory refers to a state in which the xlet program constituting the application is read into the work memory and can be executed by the virtual machine. A broken line arrow at1 in FIG. 7B shows a close-up of the internal configuration of the application management table. As shown in this internal configuration, the application management table is composed of “life cycle”, “application ID” indicating the application whose title is the life cycle, and “activation attribute” of the application.

  Disc content that will be implemented in the near future is selected as a subject, and the life cycle description in the application management table will be described with a specific example. The disc content used here is the main title (title # 1) constituting the main video, the online shopping title (title # 2) constituting online shopping, and the game title (title # 3) constituting the game application. Includes three titles with different personalities. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a disc content including three titles of a main title, an online shopping title, and a game title. In the figure, IndexTable is described on the right side, and three titles are described on the left side.

  A broken line frame on the right side indicates the belonging relationship to which title each application belongs. Of the three titles, title # 1 is composed of three applications, application # 1, application # 2, and application # 3. title # 2 includes two applications, application # 3 and application # 4, and title # 3 includes application # 5. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the reproduced images of the three titles shown in FIG. In the reproduced images of these three titles, the main title and online shopping title in FIGS. 11A and 11B include a video (cart cr1) 1 that imitates a shopping cart, but the game in FIG. 11C. There is no cart video in the title. Since the cart cr1 needs to be displayed in common for the main title and the online shopping title, the cart program application # 3 is started on both the title # 1 and title # 2. In addition to the cart application described above, there are an agent application that imitates a mascot appearing in a movie work and a menu application that displays a menu in response to a menu call operation.

  FIG. 12A shows a graph of the lifetime of each application based on the belonging relationship indicated by the broken line in FIG. In this figure, the horizontal axis is the title time axis, and the life span of each application is arranged in the vertical axis direction. Here, since application # 1 and application # 2 belong only to title # 1, these lifetimes remain within title # 1. Since application # 4 belongs only to title # 2, these life spans remain in title # 2. Since application # 5 belongs only to title # 3, these lifetimes remain in title # 3. Since application # 3 belongs to title # 1 and title # 2, these life spans range from title # 1 to title # 2. When the application management table is described based on this life cycle, the application management tables of titles # 1, # 2, and # 3 are as shown in FIG. If the application management table is described in this way, application # 1, application # 2, and application # 3 are loaded into the work memory at the start of playback of title # 1. Then, at the start of title # 2, application # 1 and application # 2 are deleted from the work memory so that only application # 3 is controlled. Similarly to this, it is possible to perform control such that application # 4 is loaded into the work memory at the start of playback of title # 2, and application # 3 and # 4 are deleted from the work memory at the start of title # 3.

Furthermore, it is possible to control to load application # 5 into the work memory during the reproduction of title # 3 and delete application # 5 from the work memory when the reproduction of title # 3 ends.
Even if there is a branch between titles, the application that is alive at the branch source and branch destination should be stored in the work memory, and the application that exists only at the branch destination but not at the branch source may be read into the work memory. Therefore, the number of times the application is read into the work memory is the minimum necessary number. In this way, by reducing the number of readings, it is possible to realize an application that does not recognize the title boundary, that is, an unbounded application.

Next, application activation attributes will be described. The startup attribute is “AutoRun” indicating automatic startup, “Persistent” indicating that it is not the target of automatic startup, but it can be placed in the virtual machine work memory. There is a “Suspend” that disables power allocation.
“AutoRun” is a life cycle indicating that the application is read into the work memory and executed simultaneously with the branching of the corresponding title. When there is a branch from one title to another, the management entity (application manager) that manages applications manages the application that is alive at the branch destination title and whose startup attribute is set to AutoRun. Read into work memory and execute. As a result, the application is automatically started together with the title branch. As an application in which the start attribute is set to AutoRun, an application having a JMF player instance and a JumpTitleAPI call can be mentioned. This is because such an application is an application that regulates the title time axis, and unless such an application is automatically activated, the concept of the title time axis becomes ambiguous.

  The activation attribute “Persistent” is a continuation attribute and indicates that the state of the application in the branch source title is continued. It is also an attribute indicating that it can be loaded into the work memory. When the activation attribute is “Persistent”, an application having this activation attribute is permitted to be called from another application. When there is a call from a running application, the management entity that manages the application (application manager) determines whether the application ID of the application is described in the application management table and the startup attribute is "Persistent" To do. If it is “Persistent”, the application is loaded into the work memory. On the other hand, when the application ID of the call destination application is not described in the application management table, the application is not loaded into the work memory. Calls by the application are limited to applications to which this “Persistent” is assigned.

Since “Persistent” is a default activation attribute that is given when the activation attribute is not explicitly specified, when the activation attribute of a certain application is unspecified “-”, the activation attribute of the activation attribute of the application Means that this is Persistent.
How these start attributes are described in the application of FIG. 11 will be described. FIG. 13 is a setting example of activation attributes for the three applications in FIG. Of the three applications shown in FIG. 12, application # 2 is assumed to be an application that is activated only when there is an application call from another application, as shown in FIG. 13B. The remaining application # 1 and application # 3 are applications that are automatically started simultaneously with the start of title # 1. In this case, as shown in FIG. 13A, the activation attribute of each application in the application management table is set to “AutoRun” for application # 1 and application # 3 and “Persistent” for application # 2. In this case, application # 1 and application # 3 are automatically loaded into the work memory and executed when branching to title # 1. On the other hand, since the activation attribute of application # 2 is Persistent, it is understood in a negative meaning that “application # 2 is an application that can be loaded onto the work memory of the virtual machine”. Therefore, application # 2 is loaded into the work memory of the virtual machine and executed only when there is a call from application # 1. With the above life cycle / startup attributes, the number of applications that can run on a virtual machine can be limited to 4 or less, and the total number of threads can be limited to 64 or less, ensuring stable application operation. Can do.

Next, Suspend will be explained.
Suspend means that an application is placed in a state where resources are allocated but CPU power is not allocated. Such Suspend is significant for realizing a process of passing through a side path during execution of a game title, for example. FIGS. 14A and 14B are diagrams showing a case where Suspend is significant. As shown in FIG. 14B, there are three titles (title # 1, title # 2, title # 3), of which title # 1 and title # 3 execute the game application, but title # 2 in the middle Is a side pass, and realizes video reproduction. In the side path, since it is necessary to realize video reproduction, execution of the game is interrupted. Since the game application counts the score in the middle, we want to keep the stored value of the resource before and after title # 2. In this case, the application management table is described such that the game application is suspended at the start of title # 2 and application # 2 is resumed at the start of title # 3. By doing so, since the resource is allocated to application # 2 in title # 2, the stored value of the resource is maintained. However, since CPU power is not allocated, application # 2 is not executed by the virtual machine. Thereby, the process of executing the side pass during the execution of the game title is realized.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating combinations that can take three modes (Persistent, AutoRun, Suspend) that the activation attribute can take and three modes (non-activation, activation, Suspend) of the application status in the immediately preceding title. When the immediately preceding state is “not activated”, if the activation attribute is “AutoRun”, the application is activated in the branch destination title.
If the immediately preceding state is “not activated” and the activation attribute is “Persistent” or “Suspend”, the application does nothing in the branch destination title and continues the state.

When the immediately preceding state is “active”, if the activation attribute is “Persistent” or “AutoRun”, the application does nothing in the branch destination title and continues the state.
If the activation attribute is "Suspend", the application state will be suspended. When the immediately preceding state is “Suspend”, if the start attribute of the branch destination title is “Suspend”, Suspend is maintained. If “Persistent” or “AutoRun”, the application resumes at the branch destination title. By defining the life cycle and activation attributes in the application management table, it is possible to perform synchronous control of running Java applications along the progress of the title time axis. You can send the application to the world. This completes the description of the recording medium. Next, the playback apparatus according to the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the internal configuration of the playback apparatus according to the present invention. The reproducing apparatus according to the present invention is industrially produced based on the inside shown in the figure. The playback device according to the present invention mainly comprises two parts, a system LSI and a drive device, and can be industrially produced by mounting these parts on the cabinet and substrate of the device. The system LSI is an integrated circuit in which various processing units that fulfill the functions of the playback device are integrated. The reproduction apparatus thus produced includes a BD-ROM drive 1, a read buffer 2, a demultiplexer 3, a video decoder 4, a video plane 5, a P-Graphics decoder 9, a Presentation Graphics plane 10, a synthesizing unit 11, a font generator 12, I -Graphics decoder 13, switch 14, Interactive Graphics plane 15, composition unit 16, HDD 17, read buffer 18, demultiplexer 19, audio decoder 20, scenario memory 21, CPU 22, key event processing unit 23, instruction ROM 24, switch 25, CLUT Section 26, CLUT section 27, PSR set 28, and local memory 29.

The BD-ROM drive 1 performs loading / ejecting of the BD-ROM and executes access to the BD-ROM.
The read buffer 2 is a FIFO memory, and TS packets read from the BD-ROM are stored in a first-in first-out manner.
A demultiplexer (De-MUX) 3 takes out a TS packet from the read buffer 2 and converts the TS packet constituting the TS packet into a PES packet. Of the PES packets obtained by the conversion, those having a PID set by the CPU 22 are output to any of the video decoder 4, the audio decoder 20, the P-Graphics decoder 9, and the I-Graphics decoder 13.

The video decoder 4 decodes the plurality of PES packets output from the demultiplexer 3 to obtain an uncompressed picture and writes it to the video plane 5.
The video plane 5 is a plane for storing uncompressed pictures. A plane is a memory area for storing pixel data for one screen in the playback apparatus. If a playback device is provided with a plurality of planes, and the contents stored in these planes are added for each pixel and the video is output, the video output can be performed after the plurality of video contents are combined. The resolution in the video plane 5 is 1920 × 1080, and the picture data stored in the video plane 5 is composed of pixel data expressed by a 16-bit YUV value.

The P-Graphics decoder 9 decodes the presentation graphics stream read from the BD-ROM and HDD 17 and writes uncompressed graphics to the Presentation Graphics plane 10. Subtitles appear on the screen by decoding the graphics stream.
The Presentation Graphics plane 10 is a memory having an area for one screen, and can store uncompressed graphics for one screen. The resolution of this plane is 1920 × 1080, and each pixel of uncompressed graphics in the Presentation Graphics plane 10 is represented by an 8-bit index color. By converting the index color using CLUT (Color Lookup Table), the uncompressed graphics stored in the Presentation Graphics plane 10 are provided for display.

The synthesizer 11 synthesizes the uncompressed picture data (i) with the contents stored in the Presentation Graphics plane 10.
The font generator 12 expands the text code included in the textST stream into a bitmap using a character font.
The I-Graphics decoder 13 decodes the interactive graphics stream read from the BD-ROM or the HDD 17 and writes uncompressed graphics to the Interactive Graphics plane 15.

The switch 14 is a switch that selectively writes either the font sequence generated by the font generator 12 or the graphics obtained by decoding of the P-Graphics decoder 9 to the Presentation Graphics plane 10.
In the Interactive Graphics plane 15, uncompressed graphics obtained by decoding by the I-Graphics decoder 13 is written.

The synthesizing unit 16 synthesizes the stored content of the Interactive Graphics plane 10 and the synthesized image (the synthesized image data of the uncompressed state and the stored content of the Presentation Graphics plane 7), which is the output of the synthesizing unit 8.
The HDD 17 is a built-in medium that stores SubClip, Clip information, and playlist information downloaded via a network or the like. The playlist information in the HDD 17 is different in that it can be specified regardless of clip information existing in either the BD-ROM or the HDD 17. In this specification, the playlist information on the HDD 17 does not need to specify a file on the BD-ROM with a full path. This is because the HDD 17 is integrated with the BD-ROM and is recognized by the playback device as one virtual drive (called a virtual package). Therefore, the Clip_Information_file_name in the PlayItem information and the Clip_Information_file_name in the SubPlayItem information can designate an AVClip on the HDD 17 or BD-ROM by designating a 5-digit numerical value corresponding to the file body of the file storing the Clip information. By reading out the recorded contents of this HDD and dynamically combining it with the recorded contents of the BD-ROM, various playback variations can be produced.

The read buffer 18 is a FIFO memory, and TS packets read from the HDD 17 are stored in a first-in first-out manner.
A demultiplexer (De-MUX) 19 takes out a TS packet from the read buffer 18 and converts the TS packet into a PES packet. The PES packet obtained by the conversion is output to the font generator 12 with a desired stream PID.

The audio decoder 20 decodes the PES packet output from the demultiplexer 19 and outputs uncompressed audio data.
The scenario memory 21 is a memory for storing current PL information and current Clip information. The current PL information is information that is currently processed among a plurality of PL information recorded on the BD-ROM. Current Clip information is information that is currently processed among a plurality of Clip information recorded on the BD-ROM.

The CPU 22 executes software stored in the instruction ROM 24 and controls the entire playback device.
The key event processing unit 23 outputs a key event for performing the operation in response to a key operation on the remote control or the front panel of the playback device.
The instruction ROM 24 stores software defining control of the playback device.

The switch 25 is a switch that selectively inputs various data read from the BD-ROM and the HDD 17 to any one of the read buffer 2, the read buffer 18, the scenario memory 21, and the local memory 29.
The CLUT unit 26 converts the index color in the uncompressed graphics stored in the video plane 5 into Y, Cr, and Cb values.

The CLUT unit 27 converts the index color in the uncompressed graphics stored in the Interactive Graphics plane 15 into Y, Cr, and Cb values.
The PSR set 28 is a register built in the playback device, and includes 64 Player Status Registers (PSR) and 4096 General Purpose Registers (GPR). Of the setting values (PSR) of the Player Status Register, PSR4 to PSR8 are used to represent the current playback point.

PSR4 is set to a value between 1 and 100 to indicate the title to which the current playback point belongs, and is set to 0 to indicate that the current playback point is the top menu.
PSR5 is set to a value from 1 to 999 to indicate the chapter number to which the current playback point belongs, and is set to 0xFFFF to indicate that the chapter number is invalid in the playback device.

PSR6 is set to a value of 0 to 999, and indicates the number of the PL (current PL) to which the current playback time point belongs.
PSR7 is set to a value from 0 to 255, and indicates the number of the Play Item (current Play Item) to which the current playback time point belongs.
PSR8 is set to a value of 0 to OxFFFFFFFF to indicate the current playback time point (current PTM (Presentation TiMe)) with a time accuracy of 45 KHz. The current playback time point is specified by the above PSR4 to PSR8.

  The local memory 29 is a cache memory for temporarily storing the recorded contents of the BD-ROM because reading from the BD-ROM is slow. Due to the presence of the local memory 29, the application execution in the BD-J mode is made efficient. FIG. 17A is a diagram showing how the Java archive file existing on the BD-ROM is identified on the local memory 29. In the table of FIG. 17A, the file name on the BD-ROM is shown in the left column, and the file name on the local memory 29 is shown in the right column. Comparing these right column and left column, it can be seen that the file in the local memory 29 is designated by a file path excluding the directory designation “BDJA”.

  FIG. 17B is a diagram showing an application of FIG. In this application example, data stored in a file is stored in a format of header + data. What is used for the header is the file path in the local memory 29. As shown in FIG. 17B, the local memory 29 uses a file path in which a part of the file path in the BD-ROM is omitted. Therefore, by storing the file path in the header, the BD in each data is stored. -The location on ROM can be revealed.

The above is the hardware configuration of the playback apparatus according to the present embodiment. Next, the software configuration of the playback apparatus according to this embodiment will be described.
FIG. 18 is a diagram in which a portion composed of software and hardware stored in the ROM 24 is replaced with a layer configuration. As shown in the figure, the layer configuration of the playback apparatus is composed of the following a), b), c), d-1), d-2), e), and f). That means
a) Above the physical hardware hierarchy,
b) Presentation Engine 31 for controlling playback by AVClip,
c) Playback Control Engine 32 for performing playback control based on playlist information and Clip information;
There are two levels,
At the top level
e) There is a module manager 34 that performs branching between titles.

Between these HDMV module 33 and module manager 34,
d-1) HDMV module 33 which is the decoding / execution subject of Movie object;
d-2) The BD-J module 35 that decodes and executes the BD-J object is placed in the same hierarchy.
The BD-J module 35 is a so-called Java platform and has a Java virtual machine 38 including a work memory 37 as a core, and includes an application manager 36, an event listner manager 39, and a default operation manager 40. First, the Presentation Engine 31 to Module Manager 34 will be described. FIG. 19 is a diagram schematically illustrating processing by the Presentation Engine 31 to the module manager 34.

  The Presentation Engine 31 executes an AV playback function. The AV playback function of the playback device is a group of traditional functions followed from DVD players and CD players. Playback start (Play), playback stop (Stop), pause (Pause On), and release of pause (Pause) Off), release of Still function (still off), fast forward with specified speed (Forward Play (speed)), rewind with specified speed (Backward Play (speed)), audio switching (Audio Change), sub-video switching ( Functions such as Subtitle Change and Angle Change. In order to realize the AV playback function, the Presentation Engine 31 includes a video decoder 4, a P-Graphics decoder 9, and an I-Graphics decoder so as to decode a portion corresponding to a desired time in the AVClip read onto the read buffer 2. 13. The audio decoder 20 is controlled. By decoding a portion indicated by PSR8 (current PTM) as a desired time, it is possible to reproduce an arbitrary time point in the AVClip. 1 in the figure schematically shows the start of decoding by the Presentation Engine 31.

  The playback control engine (Playback Control Engine (PCE)) 32 executes various functions such as a playlist playback function (i) and a status acquisition / setting function (ii) in the playback device. The PL playback function means that, among the AV playback functions performed by the Presentation Engine 31, playback start and playback stop are performed according to current PL information and Clip information. These functions (i) to (ii) are executed in response to function calls from the HDMV module 33 to the BD-J module 35. That is, the playback control engine 32 executes its function in response to an instruction from a user operation and an instruction from an upper layer in the layer model. In FIG. 19, arrows with 2 and 3 schematically indicate reference of the Playback Control Engine 32 to Clip information and playlist information.

  The HDMV module 33 is the execution subject of the MOVIE mode, and when the Movie object constituting the branch destination is notified from the module manager 34, the Movie object constituting the branch destination title is read to the local memory 29, and this Movie object is stored in this Movie object. The described navigation command is decoded, and a function call to the Playback Control Engine 32 is executed based on the decoded result. In FIG. 19, arrows marked with ▽ 2, ▽ 3, and ▽ 4 indicate the notification of the branch destination Movie object from the module manager 34 (2), the decoding of the navigation command described in the Movie object (3), and the Playback Control Engine 32. A function call (4) for is schematically shown.

  The module manager 34 holds the Index Table read from the BD-ROM and performs branch control. When the HDMV module 33 executes the JumpTitle command or when the title jump API is called from the BD-J module 35, this branch control receives the title number that is the jump destination and receives the Movie that constitutes the title. The object or the BD-J object is notified to the HDMV module 33 or the BD-J module 35. The arrows with ▽ 0, ▽ 1, and ▽ 2 in the figure schematically indicate the execution of the JumpTitle command (0), the index table reference (1) by the module manager 34, and the notification of the branch destination Movie object (2). ing.

The above is the description of the Presentation Engine 31 to the module manager 34. Next, the application manager 36 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing the application manager 36.
The application manager 36 executes application startup control with reference to the application management table and control at the normal end of the title.

  Activation control means that each time a BD-J object to be branched from is notified from the module manager 34, the BD-J object is read and the local memory 29 is accessed by referring to the application management table in the BD-J object. I do. Then, the control is such that the xlet program that constitutes the application having the current playback time point as the life cycle is read out to the work memory. In FIG. 20, ☆ 1, ☆ 2, and ☆ 3 schematically show a branch destination BD-J object notification (1), application management table reference (2), and startup instruction to the Java virtual machine 38 in startup control. In response to this activation instruction, the Java virtual machine 38 reads the xlet program from the local memory 29 to the work memory 37 (☆ 5).

  The title end control includes a normal end control and an abnormal end control. The control at the normal end includes a control in which the jump title API is called by an application constituting the title and the switching control main body (module manager 34) is requested to switch to the branch destination title. An arrow ☆ 6 schematically shows the notification of the module manager 34 in this end control. Here, when the title is normally terminated, the application constituting the title may remain activated. This is because whether or not to end the application is determined in the branch destination title. Although not described in detail in the present embodiment, the application manager 36 performs a process of reading a Java archive file from the BD-ROM to the local memory 29 (8). ☆ 8 is a schematic representation of reading to the local memory 29.

This completes the description of the application manager 36. Next, the work memory 37 to the Default Operation Manager 40 will be described with reference to FIG.
The work memory 37 is a heap area in which xlet programs constituting the application are arranged. The work memory 37 originally exists in the Java virtual machine 38, but in FIG. 21, the work memory 37 is described in an upper layer of the Java virtual machine 38 for the convenience of drawing. The xlet program on the work memory 37 includes an EventListner and a JMF player instance.

  The Java virtual machine 38 loads the xlet program constituting the application into the work memory 37, decrypts the xlet program, and executes processing according to the decryption result. As described above, since the xlet program includes a method for instructing generation of a JMF player instance and a method for instructing execution of the JMF player instance, the xlet program controls the lower layers so as to realize the processing contents instructed by these methods. If JMF player instance generation is commanded, the Java virtual machine 38 obtains a JMF player instance associated with the YYYY.MPLS file on the BD-ROM. If execution of the JMF method in the JMF player instance is instructed, the JMF method is issued to the BD middleware and replaced with a function call supported by the BD playback device. Then, the replaced function call is issued to the Playback Control Engine 32.

  The Event Listner Manager 39 analyzes an event (key event) generated by a user operation and distributes the event. Solid arrows ◇ 1 and ◇ 2 in the figure schematically show distribution by the Event Listner Manager 39. For key events registered in the Event Listner in the xlet program, such as START, STOP, and SPEED, events related to the xlet program indirectly referenced by the BD-J object are distributed. START, STOP, and SPEED are events corresponding to JMF. Since these key events are registered in the event listner of the xlet program, the xlet program can be started by this key event. If the key event is a non-registered key event, the key event is distributed to the Default Operation Manager 40. There are various key events that occur in the BD-ROM playback device, such as audio switching and angle switching, that are not registered in the Event Listner, and even if these key events occur, to perform processing without omissions. It is.

  When a key event that is not registered in the Event Listner in the xlet program is distributed from the Event Listner Manager 39, the Default Operation Manager 40 executes a function call corresponding to the Event Listner unregistered event to the Playback Control Engine 32. A function call by the Default Operation Manager 40 is schematically shown by an arrow ◇ 3 in the figure. In FIG. 21, Event Listner unregistered events are distributed by Event Listner Manager 39 and Default Operation Manager 40. However, Playback Control Engine 32 may directly receive Event Listner unregistered events and perform playback control (in FIG. 21). Four).

.
(Explanation of flowchart)
The above description of the application manager 36 is merely an overview. The processing of the application manager 36 is shown in more detail in the flowcharts of FIGS. Hereinafter, the processing procedure of the application manager 36 will be described in more detail with reference to these flowcharts.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a control procedure at the time of branching by the application manager 36. This flowchart is a process of starting or terminating an application (referred to as application x) that satisfies the conditions of steps S2 to S5.
Step S2 is a determination as to whether or not there is an application x that is not activated at the branch source title but is alive at the branch destination title and the activation attribute at the branch destination title is the AutoRun attribute. A cache sense for 29 is performed. As a result of the cache sense, if the application x is present on the local memory 29 (Yes in step S7), the application x is read from the local memory 29 to the work memory 37 (step S8). If not in the local memory 29, the application x is read from the BD-ROM into the local memory 29, and then the application x is read from the local memory 29 into the work memory 37 (step S9).

Step S3 is a determination as to whether or not there is an application x that is running with the branch source title and is not alive with the branch destination title. If it exists, the application x is deleted from the work memory 37 and terminated (step S10).
Step S4 is a determination as to whether or not a branch source Suspend, branch destination AutoRun, or Persistent application exists. If it exists, the application x is resumed (step S11).

Step S5 is a determination of whether or not there is a branch destination Suspend application running with the branch source title. If it exists, the application x is suspended (step S12).
The processing of the application manager 36 for terminating individual applications is as shown in FIG. FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of application termination processing. This figure is a loop process that repeats the processes of steps S16 to S20 for each of a plurality of applications to be terminated (step S15). In this loop process, the application manager 36 issues a terminate event that terminates the running application (step S16), sets a timer (step S17), and shifts to the loop process including steps S18 to S20. When the Event Listner receives this terminate event, the corresponding xlet program starts the termination process. When the termination process is terminated, the xlet program is released from the work memory 37 and terminated.

  While the loop processing from step S18 to step S20 is continued, the timer continues to count down. In this loop process, step S18 is a determination as to whether or not the issue destination application has ended. If it has ended, the process for this application is ended. In step S19, it is determined whether or not the timer has timed out. If timed out, in step S20, the issue destination application is deleted from the work memory 37 and the application is forcibly terminated.

The processing of the module manager 34 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 24 is a diagram schematically showing the process of application termination. The first level in the figure shows the application manager 36, and the second level shows three applications. The application on the left side of the second row in FIG. 24 indicates an application that has received the terminate event and succeeded in the termination process. The applications in the second row and middle row in FIG. 24 indicate applications that have received a terminate event but have failed the termination process. In the second row, the application on the right side indicates an application that cannot receive a terminate event because EventListner is not implemented.

Arrows ep1 and ep2 between the first level and the second level schematically indicate that a terminate event is issued by the application manager, and an arrow ep3 schematically indicates termination process activation.
The third level is the state after the state transition when the termination process is successful, and this application is terminated by its own termination process. If there are applications that do not end within a predetermined period, such as these xlet programs, the application manager 36 forcibly removes them from the work memory 37. The fourth row shows forced termination by the application manager 36. It can be said that one of the missions of the application manager 36 is to define the fourth-stage forced termination.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, an application that is started with a branch source title and is not alive with a branch destination title is automatically terminated. However, the number of applications that exceed the resource limit of the playback device will not be launched. Since the application operation before and after branching can be guaranteed, it is possible to distribute a large amount of disc content that allows the application to be executed while playing back the digital stream.

(Second embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the lifetime of the application coincides with the title time axis, but the second embodiment proposes that a part of the PL time axis is set as the lifetime of the application. Since a part of the PL time axis is expressed by a chapter, the life cycle of the application can be defined by describing the start point and end point in the chapter. FIG. 25A is a diagram showing an application management table in which a life cycle is defined on the PL time axis. In FIG. 25A, three applications are described in the application management table. Among them, application # 2 is designated as a life cycle from Chapter # 2 to Chapter # 3 of title # 1, and is set as a start attribute. AutoRun is specified. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 25B, application # 2 is started at the start point of Chapter # 2 and ends at the end point of Chapter # 3.

On the other hand, for application # 3, title # 1 from Chapter # 4 to Chapter # 6 is designated as the life cycle. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 25 (b), application # 3 is started at the start point of Chapter # 4 and ends at the end point of Chapter # 6, as shown in FIG. 25 (b).
In order to perform processing based on the application management table described in this way, the application manager 36 according to the present embodiment has an application whose life cycle starts from the chapter start point every time the chapter start point specified by the PLmark is reached. Whether or not to do so is determined, and if it exists, the application is loaded into the work memory 37.

Similarly, every time the chapter start point is reached, it is determined whether or not there is an application whose life cycle ends in the chapter immediately before that chapter. If there is, the application is released from the work memory 37.
If you manage the life of an application in units called chapters, you can specify the life of an application with more precision. However, it should be noted that disc content can have a reverse time axis. Backward means that the time axis advances in the reverse direction by rewinding. If this reversal and progress are repeated at the chapter boundary, the work memory is loaded and discarded many times, resulting in an extra read load. Therefore, in this embodiment, the application activation time is set to the moment when normal playback by the playback control engine 32 is started after entering the title. Here, PL playback includes normal playback and trick playback. Trick playback includes fast forward, rewind, SkipNext, and SkipBack. While such fast forward, rewind, SkipNext, and SkipBack are being performed, the application is not started, and the application is started only after normal playback is started. By using the normal playback start moment as a reference, even when there is a traffic before and after the life span as described above, the activation of the application is not repeated more than necessary. It should be noted that the process of setting the normal playback start moment as the application activation reference may be executed even when the life span is the title.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the application life span can be defined in units of chapters smaller than the PL, so that precise application control can be realized.
(Modification of the second embodiment)
In FIG. 25, priority is given to each application. This priority takes a value between 0 and 255, and when there is a conflict in resource usage between applications, which application is forcibly terminated and which application takes the resource from When the application manager 36 performs this, it becomes a judgment material. In the example of FIG. 25, the priority of application # 1 is 255, application # 2, and the priority of application # 3 is 128. Therefore, the application manager 36 has a low priority when there is a conflict between application # 1 and application # 2. Process to forcibly terminate # 2.

(Third embodiment)
The disc content provided by the BD-ROM is composed of a plurality of titles that can be branched from each other. Each title has a non-AV title consisting of only a control procedure for the playback apparatus, in addition to one or more PLs and a control procedure using the PL. In the present embodiment, this non-AV title will be described.

  For such non-AV titles, the issue is how to determine the title timeline. FIG. 26A shows the title time axis determined from the PL time axis. In this case, the PL time axis becomes the title time axis, and the lifetime of the application is determined on the title time axis. When there is no PL time axis as a reference, the title time axis should be determined as shown in FIGS.

  FIG. 26B shows the title time axis determined from the life span of the main application. The main application is the only application whose activation attribute is set to AutoRun in the title and is automatically activated at the start of the title. For example, this is called a launcher application. A launcher application is an application program that activates another application.

  The idea of FIG. 26B is that the title time axis is considered to continue as long as the main application is activated, and the time axis is terminated when the main application ends. FIG. 26 (c) is a diagram showing a title time axis determined from the life spans of a plurality of applications. One application is started at the start point of the title, but there are cases where this application calls another application, and this application calls another application. In this case, as long as any application is activated, the title time axis is considered to be continued, and if no application is activated, the title time axis is terminated there. If the title time axis of a non-AV title is determined in this way, the process of branching to a predetermined title at the same time as the end of the title time axis for both AV titles and non-AV titles is defined. Can be done unilaterally. Note that the title time axis for non-AV titles is merely a hypothetical time axis that is assumed in comparison with AV titles. Therefore, the playback device cannot go backward on the title time axis in a non-AV title or can not cue to an arbitrary position.

The above is an improvement over the recording medium in the present embodiment. Next, improvements to the playback apparatus in this embodiment will be described.
In order to end the title in the above-described procedure, the application manager 36 according to the third embodiment performs processing according to the processing shown in FIG. FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the application manager 36 during title reproduction. This flowchart has a loop structure in which steps S21 to S23 are repeated during title reproduction.

Step S21 is a determination of whether or not the title jump API has been called. If so, the module manager 34 is requested to branch to the jump destination title (step S27).
In step S22, it is determined whether or not there is a main application that is responsible for calling an application in the title. If it exists, it is confirmed whether or not it is activated (step S25). If it is not activated, it is interpreted as “end of title”, and the completion is notified to the module manager 34 (step S26).

Step S23 is a step executed when there is no main application (No in step S22), and it is determined whether no application is activated. If so, it is also interpreted as “end of title”, and the module manager 34 is notified of the end (step S26).
As described above, according to the present embodiment, even if a title does not involve PL playback, it is possible to perform processing that does not branch during application execution but branches only after application execution is completed.

(Fourth embodiment)
The present embodiment relates to an improvement when menu control similar to that of a DVD is realized on a BD-ROM. FIG. 28A shows a menu hierarchy realized by the BD-ROM. The menu hierarchy in this figure has a structure in which TopMenu is arranged at the top, and subordinate TitleMenu, SubTitleMenu, and AudioMenu can be selected from this TopMenu. Arrows sw1, 2, and 3 in the figure schematically show menu switching by button selection. The TopMenu is a menu in which buttons (buttons sn1, sn2, sn3 in the figure) for accepting whether audio selection, subtitle selection, or title selection is performed are arranged.

  The TitleMenu is a menu in which buttons for accepting selection of movie works, such as whether to select a movie version (title), a director's cut version, or a game version, are arranged. AudioMenu is a menu with buttons that accept whether audio playback is done in Japanese or English, and SubTitleMenu is a menu that has buttons that accept whether subtitles are displayed in Japanese or English. is there.

A MOVIE object for operating a menu having such a hierarchy is shown in FIG. In FIG. 28B, MovieObject.bdmv stores FirstPlay OBJ, TopMenu OBJ, AudioMenu OBJ, and SubTitleMenu OBJ.
The FirstPlay object (FirstPlay OBJ) is a dynamic scenario that is automatically executed when loading a BD-ROM onto a playback device.

  The TopMenu object (TopMenu OBJ) is a dynamic scenario that controls the behavior of TopMenu. It is this TopMenu object that is called when the user requests a menu call. The TopMenu object includes a command that changes the state of a button in the TopMenu according to an operation from the user, and a branch command that branches according to a confirmation operation on the button. This branch command realizes menu switching from TopMenu to TitleMenu, TopMenu to SubTitleMenu, and TopMenu to AudioMenu.

The AudioMenu object (AudioMenu OBJ) is a dynamic scenario that controls the behavior of the AudioMenu, and it updates the audio settings in response to commands that change the state of buttons in the AudioMenu according to user operations and confirmation operations on buttons. Contains commands.
SubTitleMenu object (SubTitleMenu OBJ) is a dynamic scenario that controls the behavior of SubTitleMenu. It is used for subtitle setting commands according to commands that change the state of buttons in SubTitleMenu according to user operations, and confirmation operations for buttons. Includes commands to update PSR.

The TitleMenu object (TitleMenu OBJ) is a dynamic scenario for controlling the behavior of the TitleMenu, and includes a command for changing the state of the button in the TitleMenu and a branch command for branching according to a confirmation operation on the button.
With these menu MOVIE objects, it is possible to realize the menu behavior as realized in DVD. The above is the MOVIE object related to the menu control.

  FIG. 29 is a diagram schematically showing an Index Table and a branch from the Index Table to each Movie object. In this figure, the internal structure of the Index Table is shown on the left side. The Index Table in this embodiment includes FirstPLayINDEX, TopMenuINDEX, Audio MenuINDEX, Subtitle MenuINDEX, title MenuINDEX, title # 1 to #mINDEX, title # m + 1 to #nINDEX, and title # 0INDEX. The arrows bc1, 2 in the figure schematically show the branch from Index Table to FirstPlayOBJ and the branch from FirstPlayOBJ to TopMenu, and arrows bc3,4,5 show the branch from TopMenu to TitleMenu, SubTitleMenu, AudioMenu. This is shown schematically. Arrows bc6, 7, and 8 schematically indicate branches from the TitleMenu to each Movie object.

FirstPLayINDEX, TopMenuINDEX, Audio MenuINDEX, Subtitle MenuINDEX, and Title MenuINDEX are indexes for FirstPLayOBJ, TopMenuOBJ, Audio MenuOBJ, Subtitle MenuOBJ, and Title MenuOBJ, respectively, and their identifiers are described.
title # 1 to #mINDEX are the indexes for the 1st to mth entries in the BD-ROM, and the identifier (ID) of the MOVIE object that is the branch destination when these title numbers from 1 to m are selected. ) Is described.

title # m + 1 to #nINDEX are the indexes for the nth entry from m + 1 to BD-ROM, and become branch destinations when title numbers from m + 1 to n are selected. The identifier (ID) of the BD-J object is described.
title # 0INDEX is an INDEX that defines a Movie object or a BD-J object to be a branch destination when the BD-J object is forcibly terminated. In this embodiment, an identifier for TopMenuOBJ is stored in title # 0INDEX.

  FIG. 30A shows a branch when the Index Table is described as shown in FIG. Since the Index Table is described in this way, the identifiers of Movie objects # 1 to #m are extracted from the title # 1Index to title #mIndex when the branch command with the labels title # 1 to title #m is executed. It is. When executing a branch command with labels title # m + 1 to title # n as branches, identifiers of BD-J objects # m + 1 to #n are extracted from title # m + 1Index to title # nIndex. Since the identifiers of the BD-J objects # m + 1 to #n are 5-digit numbers representing file names, “00001.BD-J, 00002.BD-J, 00003.BD-J... The dynamic scenario with the file name is read out to the memory and executed. This is branch processing using Index Table.

FIG. 30B is a diagram showing a branch at the time of forced termination when executing a BD-J object. In the branch at the time of forced termination, the identifier is extracted from title # 0Index, and the dynamic scenario of the identifier is executed by the playback device. If this identifier is the identifier of the top menu title, the top menu OBJ is automatically selected when the application is forcibly terminated.

The above is an improvement over the recording medium in the present embodiment. Next, improvements to the playback apparatus in this embodiment will be described. In order to cope with the improvement of the recording medium described above, the module manager 34 in the playback apparatus performs processing in the processing procedure as shown in FIG. FIG. 31 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the module manager 34. This flowchart constitutes a loop process composed of step S31 and step S32. When either step S31 or step S32 becomes Yes, the corresponding process is executed.

  Step S31 is a determination of whether or not the title jump API has been called. If the title jump API is called, the branch number label title number j is acquired (step S33), IDj is extracted from the index of the title number j in the index table (step S34), and the movie object IDj or The BD-J object is executed by the HDMV module 33 or the BD-J module 35 (step S35).

Step S32 is a determination of whether or not the title end is notified from the application manager 36. If notified (Yes in step S32), the top menu OBJ constituting the top menu title is executed by the HDMV module 33 or the module manager 34. (Step S36).
An example of the operation of forced application termination by the application manager 36 will be described with reference to FIG. The title to be played here is a non-AV title including a game application in which falling tile pieces are stacked. The lower part of FIG. 32 shows the title time axis composed of the life cycle of the application, and the upper part shows an image displayed on the title time axis. When the non-AV title is a game application, one screen of the game application is displayed as shown in the upper left side of FIG. If the game application has a bug and ends abnormally, the application manager 36 forcibly ends the game application according to the flowchart of FIG. 23 and notifies the module manager 34 of the end of the title. When the end of the title is notified, the module manager 34 branches to the top menu title. Then, an image as shown on the upper right side of FIG. 32 is displayed, waiting for a user operation.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to control to branch to a top menu title even at the end of a non-AV title that includes a program but does not include a digital stream. As a result, even if the application program ends in error, it is possible to avoid blackouts and hang-ups.

(Fifth embodiment)
The present invention relates to an improvement of how to synchronize with PL playback in BD-J mode. In the example of FIG. 8B, when the Java virtual machine 38 decodes the JMF player instance (A.play;) that commands the playback of the JMF player instance, the Java virtual machine 38 calls the PL playback API and immediately after the call. A response indicating “success” is returned to the application.

  When the PL playback API is called, the Playback Control Engine 32 executes a processing procedure based on the PL information. If the PL has a playback time of 2 hours, the above process will continue for 2 hours. The problem here is the gap between the time when the Java virtual machine 38 returns a success response and the time when the playback control engine 32 actually finishes processing. Since the Java virtual machine 38 is an event-driven processing entity, it returns a response indicating whether playback is successful or playback failure immediately after the call, but since the actual processing end by the Playback Control Engine 32 is after 2 hours, a success response If the time is returned to the application, the end of the process after 2 hours cannot be detected. When fast forward, rewind, and skip are performed during PL playback, the playback period of 2 hours will fluctuate around 2 hours, making it difficult to detect the end of processing.

  Since the Playback Control Engine 32 operates as an application and stand-alone, the end of PL playback cannot be interpreted as the end of the title in the end determination as in the third embodiment. Therefore, in this embodiment, whether the application is terminated or not, as long as there is a JMF player instance in the work memory 37, that is, while the control right of the Presentation Engine 31 is held by the BD-J module 35, the Playback Control Engine 32 Wait for the playback end event. If there is a playback end event, it interprets that the title has ended and notifies the module manager 34 to branch to the next title. By doing so, the time point when the Playback Control Engine 32 ends the PL playback can be the end of the title.

Hereinafter, a specific control procedure by the Playback Control Engine 32 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.
FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing a PL playback procedure by the Playback Control Engine 32. This playback procedure mainly includes control over the Presentation Engine 31 (step S46) and control over the BD-ROM drive 1 or the HDD 17 (step S48). In this flowchart, the PlayItem to be processed is PlayItem # x. In this flowchart, the current PL information (.mpls) is read (step S41), and then the processing of steps S42 to S50 is executed. Here, steps S42 to S50 constitute a loop process in which the processes of steps S43 to S50 are repeated for each PI information constituting the current PL information until step S49 becomes Yes. The PlayItem to be processed in this loop process is called PlayItem # x (PI # x). This PlayItem # x is initialized by being set to the first PlayItem of the current PL (step S42). The above-mentioned loop processing end requirement is that this PlayItem # x becomes the last PlayItem of the current PL (step S49). If it is not the last PlayItem, the next PlayItem in the current PL is set to PlayItem # x. (Step S50).

  Steps S43 to S50 that are repeatedly executed in the loop process read the Clip information specified by the Clip_information_file_name of PlayItem # x into the scenario memory 21 (Step S43), and use the Inmap_time of PlayItem # x using the EPmap of the current Clip information. Then, it is converted to an I picture address u (step S44), and Out_time of PlayItem # x is converted to an I picture address v using the EP_map of the current Clip information (step S45). The next I picture of the address v is obtained, the address before the address is set to the address w (step S47), and the TS from the I picture address u to the address w is calculated using the calculated address w. The BD-ROM drive 1 or the HDD 17 is commanded to read the packet (step S48).

On the other hand, the Presentation Engine 31 is instructed to output from the mark_time_stamp of the current PLMark to the Out_time of PlayItem # x (step S46). Through the above steps S45 to S48, the portion instructed by PlayItem # x is played back in the AVClip. Thereafter, it is determined whether PlayItem # x is the last PI of the current PL ( Step S49).

If PlayItem # x is not the last PI of the current PL, the next PlayItem in the current PL is set to PlayItem # x (step S50), and the process returns to step S43. By repeating the above steps S43 to S50, PIs constituting the PL are sequentially reproduced.
FIG. 34 is a flowchart showing an angle switching procedure and a SkipBack, SkipNext procedure. This flowchart is performed in parallel with the processing procedure of FIG. 33 and repeats the loop processing composed of steps S51 to S52. Step S51 in this loop is a determination of whether or not the API that requests angle switching is called from the Java virtual machine 38. If there is a call to the angle switching API, an operation of switching the current Clip information is executed.

  Step S55 in FIG. 34 is a determination step, in which it is determined whether or not is_multi_angles of PlayItem # x is on. is_multi_angles is a flag indicating whether or not PlayItem # x supports multi-angles. If step S55 is No, the process proceeds to step S53. If step S55 is Yes, steps S56 to S59 are executed. In steps S56 to S59, the angle number after switching is substituted into the variable y (step S56), and the clip information specified by the yth Clip_information_file_name in PlayItem # x is read to the scenario memory 21 (step S57). The current PTM is converted to the I picture address u using the EP_map of the current Clip information (step S58), and the Out_time of PlayItem # x is converted to the I picture address v using the EP_map of the current Clip information (step S59). That's it. After changing the I picture address u, v in this way, the process proceeds to step S46. Since the TS packet is read from another AVClip by moving to step S46, the video content is switched.

  On the other hand, step S52 in the loop of FIG. 34 is a determination as to whether or not an API meaning SkipBack / SkipNext has been called from the Java virtual machine 38. If so, the processing procedure of the flowchart of FIG. 35 is executed. . FIG. 35 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure when SkipBack and SkipNextAPI are called. There are many different procedures for executing SkipBack and SkipNext. It should be noted that the description here is only an example.

  A step S61 obtains current Mark information by converting the current PI number indicated by PSR and the current PTM. In step S62, it is determined whether the pressed key is the SkipNext key or the SkipBack key. If the key is the SkipNext key, the direction flag is set to +1 in step S63, and if it is the SkipBack key, in step S64. Set the direction flag to -1.

  In step S65, a number obtained by adding the value of the direction flag to the current PLMark number is set as the current PLMark number. Here, if it is the SkipNext key, the direction flag is set to +1, so the current PLMark is incremented. If it is a SkipBack key, the direction flag is set to -1, so the current PLMark is decremented.

  In step S66, PI described in ref_to_PlayItem_Id of the current PLMark is set to PlayItem # x, and in step S67, Clip information specified by Clip_information_file_name of PlayItem # x is read. In step S68, the mark_time_stamp of the current PLMark is converted into an I picture address u using the EP_map of the current Clip information. On the other hand, in step S69, the Out_time of PlayItem # x is converted to an I picture address v using the EP_map of the current Clip information. The step S70 instructs the Presentation Engine 31 to output from the mark_time_stamp of the current PLMark to the Out_time of PlayItem # x, and then proceeds to step S47 of FIG. In this way, the I picture address u, v is changed and another part is instructed to be reproduced, and the process proceeds to step S47. Therefore, the TS packet is read from another AVClip, and the video content is switched. .

FIG. 36 is a flowchart showing details of the processing procedure by the Presentation Engine 31. In this flowchart, after the PTS of the I picture is set to the current PTM (step S71), a loop process including steps S72 to S77 is executed.
Next, the loop process in steps S72 to S77 will be described. This loop processing repeats the reproduction output of the picture and audio corresponding to the current PTM and the update of the current PTM. Step S76 in this loop process defines the end requirement of the loop process. That is, in step S76, the end requirement of the loop processing is that the current PTM is PI_x Out_time.

  Step S73 is a determination as to whether or not the fast forward API or fast reverse API has been called from the Java virtual machine 38. If it is called, it is determined in step S78 whether fast-forward or fast-reverse. If fast-forward, the PTS of the next I picture is set as the current PTM (step S79). By setting the current PTM as the PTS of the next I picture in this way, it is possible to play back an AVClip in 1 second intervals. As a result, the AVClip is played back quickly in the forward direction at double speed or the like. If it is fast return, it is determined whether or not the current PTM has reached the Out_time of PlayItem # x (step S80). If not, the PTS of the previous I picture is set as the current PTM (step S81). In this way, by setting the read destination address A to the previous I picture, the AVClip can be reproduced backward by one second. As a result, the AVClip is played in the reverse direction at double speed or the like. There are a wide variety of processing procedures for executing fast forward and rewind. It should be noted that the description here is only an example.

  Step S74 is a determination as to whether or not the menu call API has been called. If so, the current playback process is suspended (step S82) and the menu program for the menu process is executed (step S83). . When a menu menu call is made by the above process, the process for displaying the menu is executed after the reproduction process is interrupted.

  Step S75 is a determination of whether or not there is a SubPlayItem # y in which PlayItem # x is specified by sync_PlayItem_id. If there is, the process proceeds to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 37 is a flowchart showing the SubPlayItem playback procedure. In this flowchart, first, in step S86, it is determined whether or not the current PTM is a sync_start_PTS_of_playItem of SubPlayItem # y. If so, in step S93, the playback control engine 32 is notified to perform playback processing based on SubPlayItem # y.

Steps S87 to S92 in FIG. 37 are flowcharts showing a playback process based on SubPlayItem # y.
In step S87, the clip information specified by Clip_information_file_name of SubPlayItem # y is read. In step S88, the In_time of SubPlayItem # y is converted to an address α using the EP_map of the current Clip information. On the other hand, in step S89, Out_time of SubPlayItem # y is converted to address β using EP_map of current Clip information. In step S90, the decoder is instructed to output from In_time of SubPlayItem # y to Out_time of SubPlayItem # y. Obtain the next I picture of the address β obtained by these conversions, set the address immediately before that address to the address γ (step S91), and use the calculated address γ to use the SubClip # z The BD-ROM drive 1 or the HDD 17 is instructed to read TS packets from address α to address γ (step S92).

  Returning to FIG. 33, the description of the processing of the Playback Control Engine 32 will be continued. Step S53 is a determination as to whether or not the reproduction control by the Presentation Engine 31 has been completed. As long as the process of the flowchart of FIG. 36 is being performed on the last PlayItem # x, Step S53 becomes No. Only after the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 36 is completed, step S53 becomes Yes and the process proceeds to step S54. Step S54 is an output of a playback end event to the Java virtual machine 38, and from this output, the Java virtual machine 38 can know the lapse of the playback time of 2 hours.

The above is the processing of the Playback Control Engine 32 and the Presentation Engine 31 in the present embodiment. Next, the processing procedure of the application manager 36 in this embodiment will be described. FIG. 38 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the application manager 36 according to the fifth embodiment.
The flowchart of FIG. 38 is an improvement of the flowchart of FIG. The improvement is that step S24 is added between step S21 and step S22, and step S101 is executed when step S24 becomes Yes.

  In step S24, it is determined whether or not the JMF player instance exists in the work memory 37. If it does not exist, the process proceeds to step S22. If it exists, the process proceeds to step S101. Step S101 is a determination as to whether or not a playback end event has been output from the Playback Control Engine 32. If it has been output, the Java player instance in the work memory is deleted (step S102), and the end of the title is changed to a module. The manager 34 is notified (step S26). If not notified, the loop process consisting of step S21 to step S24 is repeated.

In the above flowchart, as long as the JMF player instance exists in the work memory 37 (Yes in step S24), step S22 and step S23 are skipped. Therefore, the title is interpreted as ongoing even if all applications are terminated.
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the application manager 36 can grasp the elapsed time of the playback time of 2 hours. Control of branching to another title can be realized.

(Sixth embodiment)
The sixth embodiment relates to an improvement in which a data management table is provided in a BD-J object.
The data management table (DMT) is a table showing a Java archive file to be loaded on the local memory 29 on the title time axis in association with a read attribute and a read priority. “Survival in the local memory 29” means a state in which a Java archive file constituting the application is read from the local memory 29 and can be transferred to the work memory 37 in the Java virtual machine 38. FIG. 39 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data management table. As shown in this figure, the data management table contains the “lifetime” of the application, “applicationID” that identifies the application with that lifespan, the “read attribute” of that application, and “read priority”. Show.

As described above, the application management table has a concept of a life cycle, and the data management table has the same concept of a life cycle. It may seem wasteful to have the same concept as the application management table in the data management table, but this is intended.
FIG. 40 is a diagram illustrating an execution model assumed by the BD-J object. The execution model in this figure includes a BD-ROM, a local memory 29, and a Java virtual machine 38, and shows a three-way relationship of the BD-ROM, the local memory 29, and the work memory 37. An arrow my1 indicates reading between the BD-ROM and the local memory 29, and an arrow my2 indicates reading between the local memory 29 and the work memory 37. The annotations on the arrows indicate when these readings are made. According to the comment, reading between the BD-ROM and the local memory 29 is so-called “read ahead” and must be performed at a time before the application is required.

Further, according to the annotation, it can be understood that reading between the local memory 29 and the work memory 37 is performed when an application is required. “When it becomes necessary” means a time point (1) when the life cycle of the application arrives, and a time point (2) when an application call is instructed by another application or the application manager 36.
An arrow my3 indicates release of the application occupation area in the work memory 37, and an arrow my4 indicates release of the application occupation area in the local memory 29. The annotations on the arrows indicate when these readings are made. According to the annotation, it is understood that the release on the work memory 37 is performed simultaneously with the end of the application. On the other hand, the release on the local memory 29 is performed when it is no longer necessary for the Java virtual machine 38. The point at which this is no longer necessary is not the “end point”. It means “at the time when it is finished and there is no possibility of restarting”, that is, when the corresponding title is finished. Of the reading / release described above, the release time in the work memory 37 is determined from the life span in the application management table. However, it is not possible to define "the point in time before the application is required" and "the point in time when the application is finished and there is no possibility of restarting". Therefore, in the authoring stage, in order to prescribe such time points on the time axis of the entire disc content, in this embodiment, the section in which each application is alive is described in the data management table separately from the application management table. Like that. In other words, by defining "the point in time before the application is required" as the start point of the life cycle in the data management table, and defining "the point in time when there is no possibility of restart after completion" as the end point of the data management table The transition of the contents stored on the local memory 29 described above can be defined at the time of authoring. This is the significance of describing the data management table.

  The description of the live range of the local memory 29 by the data management table will be described. The disc content to be produced here consists of three titles (title # 1, title # 2, title # 3), and on the time axis of these titles, the local memory 29 has a timing as shown in FIG. Want to use. In this case, the Java archive files constituting application # 1 and application # 2 are read into the local memory 29 at the start point of the title # 1 time axis, and application # 1 and application # 2 are It remains resident in the memory 29. Then, at the start of the title # 2 time axis, the Java archive file constituting application # 1 is released from the local memory 29, and instead the Java archive file constituting application # 3 is read into the local memory 29 and made resident. (Hereafter, the Java archive files that make up the application are treated the same as the application.) The description of the data management table in this case is as shown in FIG. 41A, and the application to be resident in the local memory 29 is expressed by describing the application ID of the application in association with its life cycle. In FIG. 41A, applicationID of application # 1 is described in association with title # 1, applicationID of application # 2 is associated with title # 1, title # 2, and applicationID of application # 3 is You can see that it is associated with title # 3. By doing so, the temporal transition of occupation of the local memory 29 is defined by the authoring person.

  As a combination of the data management table and the application management table, it is desirable that the life span defined in the application management table is a fine reproduction unit, and the life span defined in the data management table is a rough reproduction unit. As a rough playback unit, a non-seamless playback unit such as title and PL is desirable. On the other hand, as a fine playback unit, a seamless playback unit such as a chapter in a PL is desirable. If the lifetime of the application is determined for each title and each PL, the application exists in the local memory 29, so that the application can be taken out at any time during the reproduction of the title. If so, even if the life cycle of the application is defined in detail, the application can be immediately read into the work memory on the virtual machine, so even if the application is started and terminated frequently, a smooth application Execution can be realized.

Next, the read attribute will be described.
In FIG. 2, it is assumed that the Java archive file is recorded in a recording area different from the AVClip. But this is just one example. A Java archive file may be embedded in a recording area occupied by an AVClip on a BD-ROM. There are two types of embedding, carousel and interleave unit.

  Here, “carouselization” means conversion to a broadcasting system in which the same content is repeated in order to realize interactive broadcasting. The BD-ROM does not store broadcast data, but in the present embodiment, a JAVA archive file is stored following the carousel broadcast format. FIG. 42 is a diagram illustrating Java archive file embedding by carouselization. The first level is a Java archive file embedded in the AVClip, and the second level shows sectioning. The third row shows TS packetization, and the fourth row shows a TS packet sequence that constitutes an AVClip. In this way, the sectioned and TS packetized data ("D" in the figure) is embedded in the AVClip. A Java archive file multiplexed into an AVClip by a carousel is read out at a low bandwidth. Since this low-band reading generally takes a long time of 2 to 3 minutes, the playback device reads the Java archive file over 2 to 3 minutes.

  FIG. 43 is a diagram showing Java archive file embedding by interleaving. The first level is the AVClip to be embedded, the second level is the Java archive file interleaved with the AVClip, and the third level is the AVClip arrangement in the recording area of the BD-ROM. As shown in this figure, the Java archive file to be embedded in the stream is interleaved and recorded between the divided parts (AVClip2 / 4, 3/4 in the figure) that make up XXXXX.m2ts that make up the AVClip. The A Java archive file multiplexed into an AVClip by interleaving is read out with a higher bandwidth than carouseling. Because of this high-band read, the playback device reads the Java archive file in a relatively short time.

  Carouselized and interleaved Java archive files are not preloaded. When the current playback time point is reached in the portion of the AVClip recording area in the BD-ROM where the Java archive file that has been carouseled and interleaved is embedded, it is loaded into the local memory 29 of the playback device. In addition to the one shown in FIG. 2 as the recording mode of the Java archive file, there are those shown in FIG. 42 and FIG. 43 (a), so the read attribute can be set as shown in FIG. 43 (b). As shown in FIG. 43 (b), the read attribute includes “Preload” indicating that it is read into the local memory 29 prior to title reproduction, and “Load.” Indicating that it is read in the carousel format during title reproduction. “Carousel” and “Load.InterLeave” indicating that the title is read in an interleaved manner during title playback. In the read attribute, whether it is carousel or interleaved is expressed by a subscript, but this may be omitted.

A specific description example of the life span in the data management table will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 44A shows an example of the data management table. FIG. 44B is a diagram showing the transition of the contents stored in the local memory 29 by the allocation of the data management table. This figure shows the occupied area in the local memory 29 in the vertical axis direction, and the horizontal axis is the PL time axis in one title. In the data management table, application # 1 is described so that the entire PL time axis in one title is the life span, and therefore, the area in local memory 29 is occupied in Chapter # 1 to Chapter # 5 of this title. It will be. In the data management table, application # 2 is described so that Chapter # 1 to Chapter # 2 in PL # 1 in the title is the life cycle, so in Chapter # 1 to Chapter # 2 of this title in local memory 29 Will occupy this area. In the data management table, application # 3 is described so that Chapter # 4 to Chapter # 5 in PL # 1 in the title is the life cycle, so in Chapter # 4 to Chapter # 5 of this title in local memory 29 Will occupy this area. This is the end of the description of the life span in the data management table.

Next, the reading priority will be described. The read priority is a priority that determines superiority or inferiority with respect to reading to the local memory 29. There are multiple values for read priority. If you want to set two levels of superiority or inferiority, set the reading priority to the value indicating Mandatory and the value indicating optional. In this case, Mandatory means a high read priority, and optional means a low read priority. If you want to set three levels of superiority or inferiority, set the reading priority to the value indicating Mandatory, the value indicating optional: high, and optional: low. Mandatory indicates the highest read priority, optional: high indicates a medium read priority, and optional: low indicates the lowest read priority. A specific description example of the read priority in the data management table will be described with reference to FIGS. In this specific example, the assumed memory size of the local memory 29 is as shown in FIG. FIG. 45A is a diagram showing a comparison of the memory scale of the local memory 29 in the old and new playback devices. An arrow mk1 indicates the memory size in the old playback device, and an arrow mk2 indicates the memory size in the new playback device. From the comparison of the arrows, it is assumed that the memory size of the local memory 29 in the new playback device is more than three times that of the old playback device. When the memory scale varies as described above, the applications are classified into two groups as shown in FIG. The first is an application (# 1, # 2) that should be read regardless of the memory size. The second is an application (# 3, # 4) that does not want to read on the old playback device, but wants to read on the new playback device. If the application to be read is classified into these two groups, read priority = Mandatory is set for the application belonging to the former, and read priority = Optional is set for the application belonging to the latter. FIG. 45B is a diagram illustrating an example of the data management table in which the read priority is set. If the application # 1 to application # 4 are recorded on the BD-ROM after setting the data management table in this way, playback on a playback device of any memory size is guaranteed, but playback devices with a large memory size An application using data of a larger size can be played back on the playback device.

The above is an improvement over the recording medium in the present embodiment. Next, improvements to the playback apparatus in this embodiment will be described. In order to cope with the improvement of the recording medium described above, the application manager 36 performs processing in the processing procedure as shown in FIG.
FIG. 46 is a diagram showing a preload control processing procedure by the application manager 36. This flowchart reads the data management table for the title to be reproduced (step S111), sets the application i having the lowest reading priority in the data management table as the application i (step S112), and step After the determination in S113 and Step S114, a loop process is formed in which the process of preloading the application i to the local memory 29 (Step S115) is repeated until it is determined that Step S116 is No and Step S117 is No. ing.

  Step S113 is a determination as to whether or not the read attribute of application i is preload, and step S114 is a determination as to whether the read priority of the application is = Mandatory or Optional. If it is determined to be preloaded in step S113 and the read priority is determined to be Mandatory in step S114, the application is preloaded to the local memory 29 (step S115). If it is determined in step S113 that the read attribute is “load”, steps S114 to S115 are skipped.

Of the two steps that define the loop processing termination requirements, step S116 determines whether or not there is an application k having the next highest application ID and the same read priority as application i. If such an application k exists, the application k is changed to application i (step S119).
Of the two steps that define the loop processing termination requirement, step S117 is a determination as to whether or not there is an application having the next lower read priority in the data management table. Among the applications having the reading priority, the application k is selected as the smallest application ID (step S118), and the application k is set as the application i (step S119). As long as these Step S116 and Step S117 are Yes, the processing of Step S113 to Step S115 described above is repeated. If there is no corresponding application in step S116 and step S117, the processing of this flowchart is ended.

Steps S120 to S123 are processes executed when it is determined in step S114 that the reading priority = Optional.
Step S120 is a determination as to whether or not there is an application j having the same applicationID and a high reading priority.
Step S121 is a step of determining whether or not the remaining capacity of the local memory 29 exceeds the size of the application i. If step S120 is No and step S121 is Yes, application i is preloaded into the local memory 29 in step S115. If step S120 is No and step S121 is No, the application i is not preloaded into the local memory 29, and proceeds to step S116 as it is.

  In this way, data with read priority = Optional is not preloaded into the local memory 29 unless the determination in step S120 to step S121 is Yes. The old playback device with a small memory scale reads about two to three applications, and the determination in step S121 is No, but the new playback device with a large memory scale reads more applications. The determination in step S121 is not No. As described above, in the old playback device, only the Mandatory application is read into the local memory 29, and in the new playback device, the Mandatory application and the Optional application are read.

  Step S122 is a step executed when it is determined Yes in step S120. When an application j having the same application ID and a high read priority exists on the local memory 29, it is determined whether or not the sum of the remaining capacity of the local memory 29 and the size of the application j exceeds the size of the application i. If it exceeds (step S122), the application i on the local memory 29 is overloaded using the application i and preloaded (step S123). If it is lower, the application i is not preloaded into the local memory 29 and proceeds to step S116 as it is.

An example of the reading process in steps S115 and S123 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 47A is a diagram illustrating an example of a data management table assumed by this specific example. The three applications in this figure are stored in three files, respectively, and the application ID is the same (applicationID = 1), but the reading priorities are different from each other (mandatory, optional: high, optional: low). If such a data management table is a processing target, an application with read priority = Mandatory is read into the local memory 29 in step S115. However, an application with read priority = Optional is read in step S123 after the determinations in steps S120 to S122. Unlike step S115, in step S123, preloading is performed so as to overwrite the application having the same application ID already in the local memory 29. Therefore, one of the plurality of applications is exclusively loaded into the local memory 29. Become.

i) After reading the application with read priority = mandatory, when reading the application with read priority = optional: high, if step S122 is No, the application with read priority = mandatory is stored in the local memory 29. Will remain. After reading the application with read priority = mandatory, when reading the application with read priority = optional: high, if step S122 is determined to be Yes, the read priority = application: high with the read priority = optional: high. The mandatory application is overwritten, and the application with read priority = optional: high remains in the local memory 29.

  ii) After reading the application with read priority = optional: high and then reading the application with read priority = optional: low, if step S122 is No, the application with read priority = Mandatory 29 will remain. After reading an application with read priority = optional: high and then reading an application with read priority = optional: low, if step S122 is determined to be Yes, read priority is given by the application with read priority = optional: low. The application of degree = optional: high is overwritten (step S123), and the application of read priority = optional: low remains in the local memory 29.

Since the process of overwriting the application on the local memory 29 is repeated as long as the capacity of the local memory 29 permits, the stored content of the local memory 29 is, as shown in FIG. 47B, mandatory = optional: It will transition to high => optional: low. Since Java archive files having different sizes can be loaded into the local memory 29 according to the memory scale, a Java archive file having a thumbnail image with the minimum necessary resolution can be obtained for a playback device with a small memory scale. Java archive file with SD image with medium resolution for playback device with medium memory size, Java archive with HD image with high resolution for playback device with large memory size Files can be loaded into the local memory 29. With such loading, it is possible to display images with different resolutions according to the memory scale, and the range of expression of title production by the authoring person widens.

FIG. 48 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of the reading process with reference to the data management table. The two applications in this figure are diagrams showing two applications to which the same application ID (application # 3) is assigned. One of them is embedded in the AVClip, and the read priority is set to mandatory. The other is recorded in a separate file from the AVClip, and the read priority is set to Optional. Since the former application is embedded in the AVClip, the life span corresponding to the embedded portion is described as a life span (title # 1: chapters # 4 to # 5). Among these applications, application # 2 and application # 3 have a read attribute indicating loading. Since application # 2 uses Chapter # 1 to Chapter # 2 as the life cycle, and application # 3 uses Chapter # 4 to Chapter # 5 as the life cycle, either one of them is the local memory exclusively on the title time axis. 29 will be resident. FIG. 48B is a diagram showing application # 2 and application # 3 stored exclusively at different time points on the title time axis. This is a consideration in consideration of playback on a playback device having only a minimum memory size. When the data management table having such contents is a processing target, the application manager 36 performs different processing according to the memory scale according to the flowchart of FIG. 46 described above.

  The latter application is loaded into the local memory 29 because the read priority = load. With this process, the application manager can load data into the local memory 29 as long as the memory size is Mandatory. The problem here is when reading is performed by a playback device having a large memory size. The fact that application # 3 cannot be read until it reaches Chapter # 4 to Chapter # 5 despite the large memory size is a waste of memory size. Therefore, in the data management table of this figure, a read attribute indicating preload is assigned to the same application # 3 and recorded on the BD-ROM, and the same application ID is assigned to these.

  Since the former application has read priority = Optional, it is preloaded only when Step S121 becomes Yes (Step S115). By doing this, a playback device with a large memory scale can load the same application embedded in the AVClip into the local memory 29 without waiting for the arrival of title # 1, Chapter # 4 to Chapter # 5. This is possible (FIG. 48 (c)).

The above is the processing at the time of preloading. Next, a processing procedure at the time of loading will be described.
FIG. 49 is a diagram showing a processing procedure of the load processing based on the data management table. In this flowchart, the loop process including steps S131 to S133 is repeated while the title reproduction is continued.

  Step S131 is a determination as to whether or not a life cycle of an application having an activation attribute indicating AutoRun has arrived. If it arrives, an application having an activation attribute indicating AutoRun is set as the application q (step S134), and an activation instruction to activate the application q is issued to the Java virtual machine 38. The work memory 37 is read (step S135).

Step S133 is a determination as to whether or not the playback of the PL in the title has been completed. This determination is made based on whether or not there is a playback end event from the Playback Control Engine 32, as shown in the fifth embodiment. If completed, the process of this flowchart is terminated.
Step S132 is a determination of whether or not there is a call from the running application. If there is, the call destination application is set to application q (step S136), and it is determined whether or not the current reproduction time point is the lifetime of application q in the application management table (step S137). If it is not the live range, the activation failure is displayed (step S148), and the process returns to the loop process including steps S131 to S133. If it is a live range, a load process is performed according to the flowchart of FIG.

  Step S138 in FIG. 50 is a determination indicating whether or not the current playback time point is the lifetime of application q in the data management table. If it is not a life cycle, the application q cannot be loaded into the local memory 29. In this case, an activation instruction to activate the application q is issued to the Java virtual machine 38, and the application q is directly read from the BD-ROM to the work memory 37 without using the local memory 29. In this case, since the head seek for reading the application occurs, the PL reproduction is interrupted (step S145).

  If it is a life cycle, it is determined in step S139 whether or not a read attribute is added to the application. The absence of the read attribute means that the application q is not carouseled or interleaved. However, even if the read attribute is not added, the application q is allowed to be placed in the local memory 29. Therefore, the application is read after recognizing the interruption. That is, after reading the application from the BD-ROM to the local memory 29, the application is read to the work memory 37 (step S140).

Steps S141 to S146 are processes performed when step S139 is determined to be Yes. In step S141, it is determined whether the application is preloaded by referring to the read attribute. If preloaded, the process proceeds to step S135.
Step S142 is a determination step executed when the read attribute is “load”, and determines whether the application q is carouseled or interleaved. If interleaved, cache sense is executed by the Java virtual machine 38 (step S143). If the application q exists in the local memory 29, the process proceeds to step S135, and the application q is loaded into the Java virtual machine 38.

  If there is no application in the local memory 29, exception processing such as branching to the top menu title is performed (step S144). If the carousel is set, a timer is set (step S148), and the cache sense is executed by the Java virtual machine 38 (step S146) until the timer times out (step S147). If the application q appears in the local memory 29, the process proceeds to step S135 in FIG. 49 to load the application q into the Java virtual machine 38. If a time-out occurs, exception processing such as branching to the top menu title is performed (step S144).

FIG. 51 is a diagram schematically showing how an application is read by the Java virtual machine 38.
Arrows 1 and 2 indicate reading of a Java archive file that exists in the application management table, exists in the data management table, and has read attributes indicating carouselization and interleaving. Arrow 1 indicates the local memory 29 sense made in steps S65 and S67. This sense of the local memory 29 senses the local memory 29 because data embedded by carousel or interleaving may exist in the local memory 29. An arrow 2 indicates reading corresponding to step S135, and shows loading from the local memory 29 to the work memory 37 when the application exists in the local memory 29. An arrow with x indicates a case where there is no data in the local memory 29.

Arrows ▽ 1 and 2 indicate reading of a Java archive file that exists in the application management table but does not exist in the data management table and does not have a read attribute.
Arrow ▽ 1 corresponds to the reading in step S145, and indicates a direct read request from the BD-ROM by the Java virtual machine 38. An arrow ▽ 2 indicates reading a Java archive file from the BD-ROM to the work memory 37 in response to the request.

Arrows 1, 2, and 3 indicate reading of a Java archive file that is alive in the application management table and is alive in the data management table but does not have a read attribute.
An arrow ☆ 1 corresponds to the reading in step S140, and indicates a direct read request from the BD-ROM by the Java virtual machine 38. The arrow ☆ 2 indicates the reading of the Java archive file to the local memory 29 according to the request. An arrow ☆ 3 indicates reading of the Java archive file from the local memory 29 to the work memory 37.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the number of applications simultaneously resident on the local memory 29 can be specified to be equal to or less than a predetermined number, so that a cache miss at the time of reading from the local memory 29 is possible. Can be avoided as much as possible. Since application reading without a cache miss can be guaranteed, the application is not read from the BD-ROM until the playback of the AVClip is stopped when the application is called. Since AVClip playback is not interrupted, seamless playback of AVClip can be guaranteed.

(Seventh embodiment)
In the third embodiment, the time axis of the non-AV title is determined based on the life cycle of the application. However, the operation of the application is unstable, and there may be a startup failure or abnormal termination. This embodiment proposes a Fail Safe mechanism in the case of a start failure or abnormal termination. FIG. 52A shows the internal structure of the BD-J object according to the seventh embodiment. Compared with FIG. 7B, this figure is new in that a playlist management table is added.

  FIG. 52B is a diagram showing an example of the playlist management table. As shown in the figure, the playlist management table is composed of a PL designation and a reproduction attribute of the PL. The designation of PL indicates a PL that can be reproduced on the title time axis of the corresponding title. The reproduction attribute of PL indicates whether or not the designated PL is automatically reproduced simultaneously with the start of title reproduction (the PL thus automatically reproduced is referred to as a default PL).

  Next, how the title time axis is defined by the playlist management table will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 53A is a diagram showing a title time axis in a non-AV system title when the playback attribute is set to indicate non-automatic playback. In this case, since the default PL is not played back, the title time axis is determined from the lifetime of the application, as in the case of non-AV titles.

  FIG. 53 (b) is a diagram showing the title time axis of a non-AV title whose playback attribute is set to AutoPlay. If the playback attribute is set to indicate AutoPlay, the Playback Control Engine 32 starts playback of the default PL simultaneously with the start of playback of the non-AV system title. However, even if the application operates normally and ends normally, the title time axis is determined based on the PL time axis.

FIG. 53C shows a case where the playback attribute is set to indicate “AutoPlay” in the playlist management table and the application ends abnormally. Due to such abnormal termination, no application is running, but the playback of the default PL continues. In this case as well, the PL time axis of the default PL becomes the title time axis.
FIG. 53D shows a case where the playback attribute is set to indicate “AutoPlay” in the playlist management table and the main application has failed to start. Also in this case, the default PL playback by the Playback Control Engine 32 is performed regardless of the failure of starting the application, so the time axis of the default PL becomes the title time axis.

As described above, if the playback attribute of the playlist management table is set to "AutoPlay", even if it takes 5-10 seconds to start the Java application, For now, it will be in a state where something is reflected. This "a state where something is reflected for the time being" can compensate for the startup delay at the start of the title execution.
The above is an improvement over the recording medium in the present embodiment. Next, improvements to the playback apparatus in this embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 52C is a diagram showing what processing is performed by the playback device when there is a PL whose playback attribute is set to AutoPlay in the playlist management table of the branch destination title. As shown in this figure, if a PL whose playback attribute is set to AutoPlay is present in the playlist management table of the branch destination title, the application manager 36 in the BD-J module 35 immediately follows this title of AutoPlayPL. The playback control engine 32 is instructed to start playback. In this way, when the playback attribute is AutoPlay, PL is instructed to start playback immediately after the title branch.

In order to cope with the improvement of the recording medium described above, the application manager 36 performs processing in the processing procedure as shown in FIG.
FIG. 54 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the application manager 36 according to the seventh embodiment. In this flowchart, Step S103 and Step S104 are added before Step S21 in the flowchart of FIG. 38, Step S100 is added between Step S21 and Step S22, and Step S105 is performed between Step S23 and Step S26. It is added.

Step S103 is a determination as to whether or not the playback attribute of the playlist management table for the corresponding title is AutoPlay. If AutoPlay, the playback control engine 32 starts playback control for the default PL (step S104).
In step S100, it is determined whether or not reproduction by the Presentation Engine 31 is being performed. If it is being reproduced, the process proceeds to step S101.

Step S105 is a determination step that is executed when Step S23 is Yes and Step S25 is No, and indicates whether or not the playback attribute is AutoPlay. If not, the module manager 34 is notified of the end of the title. If it is AutoPlay, the process proceeds to step S101 and the process is continued.
FIG. 55 is a diagram schematically showing what kind of reproduction is performed by setting “reproduction attribute = AutoPlay” in the playlist management table. The title to be played here is a non-AV title including a game application in which falling tile pieces are stacked. For this non-AV title, if the playback attribute of the playlist management table is set to AutoPlay, default PL playback by the Playback Control Engine 32 is also started. Since game app execution and default PL playback are performed in parallel, a composite image is displayed with the foreground as the game app screen and the background as the default PL playback image, as shown on the left side of FIG. Will be. It is assumed that this game application ended abnormally. The game application is forcibly terminated by the application manager 36. However, since the default PL is continuously reproduced, the title is in a state in which something is shown. By specifying the reproduction attribute in such a playlist management table, it is possible to maintain an operation without hang-up or blackout even when a game application in a non-AV title is abnormally terminated.

(Eighth embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the BD-J object has two tables, a data management table and an application management table, but this embodiment discloses a form in which these are integrated into one table. In such integration, as shown in FIG. 56A, the item called “read attribute” in the data management table is abolished, and instead an attribute called “Ready attribute” is provided as an activation attribute. The Ready attribute is a type of activation attribute indicating that an application is loaded in advance in the local memory 29 in preparation for a call from another application or a call from the application manager 36.

  FIG. 56B is a diagram showing the relationship between application handling and activation attributes. As shown in the first embodiment, the application is handled by whether it is preloaded (1), automatically activated when the current playback time reaches the valid section, or in response to a call from another (2), loaded according to the title playback progress (3), or alive, there are five differences as shown in FIG. 56 (b). . Among these, the activation attribute is set to AutoRun when preloading is performed and “automatic activation” is performed, and when loading is performed and “automatic activation” is performed.

On the other hand, the activation attribute is set to the Ready attribute when preloading or loading is performed and the activation item indicates “call activation”.
Note that there is no type of “live in the work memory 37 but not loaded in the local memory 29.” In the application / data management table, this means that the life of the work memory 37 and the local memory 29 This is because the life span of one is integrated.

  Since this Ready attribute has been added as a start attribute, the application manager 36 preloads, in the local memory 29, an application whose start attribute is set to AutoRun and an application whose start attribute is set to the Ready attribute before playing the title. Then, the process is performed. This makes it possible to perform processing for preloading the application in the local memory 29 without providing a read attribute.

FIG. 57 is a diagram schematically showing how an application is read by the Java virtual machine 38 according to the eighth embodiment. The reading in this figure is drawn based on FIG.
Arrows 1 and 2 indicate reading of a Java archive file that is alive in the application / data management table and whose start attribute is set to the Ready attribute.

Arrows 1, 2, and 3 indicate the reading of applications that are alive in the application / data management table and whose start attribute is Persistent.
These arrows 1, 2 and ☆ 1, 2, 3 were also described in FIG. 51, but “reading corresponding to the arrows of ▽ 1, 2” described in FIG. This is because the application / data management table is an integration of the application management table and the data management table, and therefore the combination of application management table = survival and data management table = non-existence cannot be expressed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the data management table and the application management table can be combined into one table (application / data management table), so that the processing by the application manager 36 can be simplified. It should be noted that the application / data management table may be further simplified by eliminating the reading priority.

(Ninth embodiment)
In the first embodiment, when the application is read into the local memory 29, the read priority is referred to, and the read process is given superiority or inferiority according to the read priority. On the other hand, the ninth embodiment is an embodiment in which the reading priority is represented by a combination of information indicating Optional and a numerical value from 0 to 255.

FIGS. 58A and 58B are diagrams showing an example of read priorities according to the ninth embodiment. 255 and 128 are examples of read priorities from 0 to 255, and application # 2 in this example means that read priorities are higher than application # 3.
In the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the application manager 36 first reads, into the local memory 29, an application to which a read priority indicating Mandatory is assigned.

  Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the capacity in the local memory 29 exceeds the size of the application for the application to which the reading priority indicating Optional is given. If it exceeds, the application with read priority = Optional is read into the local memory 29 as it is. If it falls below, an application having a high value representing the read priority is read into the local memory 29 among the data constituting the application. Then, an application with a low numerical value indicating the read priority is read into the remaining area in the local memory 29.

By doing so, an optional application can be stored in the local memory 29 even if the capacity for storing the entire application is not in the local memory 29 of the playback apparatus.
(Tenth embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the application manager 36 loads the application having the same application ID exclusively into the local memory 29 according to the read priority. However, in the tenth embodiment, by giving the application a group attribute Realize exclusive loading. FIG. 59 shows a data management table to which group attributes are assigned. The group attribute can be set in two ways, with no exclusive group and with an exclusive group. When there is an exclusive group, the group number is described. “-” Of application # 1 in FIG. 59A indicates that no exclusive group exists. On the other hand, application # 2, "group # 1" in # 3, there is exclusive group, application # 2, # 3, indicate that it belongs to the exclusive group of group # 1. The above is the improvement of the recording medium according to the present embodiment.

  The playback device according to the present embodiment verifies the group attribute of the application in the local memory 29 after reading each application into the local memory 29 based on the data management table. If two or more applications belonging to the same exclusion group exist on the local memory 29, one of them is deleted from the local memory 29.

  By doing so, the utilization efficiency of the local memory 29 can be improved. As a specific example of the exclusive group, a group including a launcher application and an application activated by this application is appropriate. Since the number of applications activated by this application is limited to one in principle, the local memory 29 should have only launcher + 1 application. If there are three or more applications, the application manager 36 needs to perform a process of deleting them from the local memory 29. Therefore, a group attribute of each application is provided, and the applications existing on the local memory 29 are provided. Check if is a launcher + 1 application.

  FIG. 59A is a diagram showing access to the local memory 29 based on the application management table. In this figure, since the group attribute of application # 2 and application # 3 for which read priority = Optional is set is group # 1, these applications belong to the same exclusive group. Among the three applications, application # 1 is the above-described launcher application, and application # 2 and application # 3 are applications started by this, so that only one of them is present in the local memory 29 so that it exists in the group. An attribute is granted. The application manager 36 refers to the group attributes of the application # 2 and application # 3, and performs processing to delete one of them from the local memory 29. Such deletion creates a margin in the local memory 29.

(Eleventh embodiment)
In the first embodiment, an application management table is provided for each title. However, in this embodiment, it is proposed to change the allocation unit of the application management table. FIG. 60 is a diagram showing variations of allocation units. In the figure, the first row shows three application management tables recorded on the BD-ROM, the second row is a title unit, the third row is a disc unit, and the fourth row is a plurality of Indicates the disk set unit consisting of BD-ROM. The arrows in the figure schematically show application management table allocation. Referring to this arrow, the application management tables # 1, # 2, and # 3 in the first level are assigned to the titles # 1, # 2, and # 3 shown in the second level, respectively. I understand. Further, an application management table # 4 is assigned for each disk, and an application management table # 5 is assigned to the entire disk set. By setting the allocation unit of the application management table to a unit larger than the title in this way, any one of the surviving applications or multiple BD-ROMs are loaded while one BD-ROM is loaded. You can define an application that will survive while you are.

(Remarks)
The above description does not show all implementation modes of the present invention. The present invention can be implemented also by the form of the implementation act in which the following (A), (B), (C), (D). Each invention according to the claims of the present application is an extended description or a generalized description of the above-described embodiments and their modifications. The degree of expansion or generalization is based on the characteristics of the technical level at the time of filing of the [technical field] of the present invention.

  (A) In all the embodiments, the optical disc according to the present invention is implemented as a BD-ROM. However, the optical disc of the present invention is characterized by a recorded dynamic scenario and an index table. It does not depend on the physical properties of Any recording medium that can record a dynamic scenario and an index table may be used. For example, it may be an optical disk such as DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD + RW, DVD + R, CD-R, CD-RW, or a magneto-optical disk such as PD, MO. . Further, it may be a semiconductor memory card such as a compact flash card, smart media, memory stick, multimedia card, PCM-CIA card. It may be a flexible disk, a magnetic recording disk (i) such as SuperDisk, Zip, or Clik !, or a removable hard disk drive (ii) such as ORB, Jaz, SparQ, SyJet, EZFley, or a microdrive. Furthermore, a built-in hard disk may be used.

  (B) The playback device in all embodiments decodes the AVClip recorded on the BD-ROM and outputs it to the TV. However, the playback device is only a BD-ROM drive, and other components are the TV. In this case, the playback device and the TV can be incorporated into a home network connected by IEEE1394. In addition, the playback device in the embodiment is a type that is used by being connected to a television, but may be a playback device integrated with a display. Furthermore, in the playback device of each embodiment, only a portion that constitutes an essential part of the processing may be used as the playback device. Since these playback apparatuses are the inventions described in the present specification, the playback apparatus is manufactured based on the internal configuration of the playback apparatus shown in each embodiment regardless of the aspect. The act becomes an implementation act of the invention described in the specification of the present application. The act of transferring the playback device shown in each embodiment for a fee or for free (sale if paid, or gift if free), lending or importing is also an implementation of the present invention. The act of offering this transfer or lending to a general user through store display, catalog solicitation, or pamphlet distribution is also an implementation of this playback device.

  (C) Since the information processing by the program shown in each flowchart is specifically realized using hardware resources, the program showing the processing procedure in the flowchart is established as an invention as a single unit. Although all the embodiments have been described with respect to the implementation of the program according to the present invention in a mode incorporated in the playback device, the program alone shown in each embodiment is executed separately from the playback device. May be. The act of implementing the program alone includes the act of producing these programs (1), the act of transferring the program for a fee or free of charge (2), the act of lending (3), the act of importing (4), and the interactive There is an act of offering to the public via an electronic communication line (5), an act of offering to the general user transfer or rental of the program by store display, catalog solicitation, pamphlet distribution.

  (D) The “time” element of each step executed in time series in each flowchart is considered as an indispensable matter for specifying the invention. Then, it can be seen that the processing procedure by these flowcharts discloses the usage mode of the reproduction method. If the processing of these flowcharts is performed so that the original purpose of the present invention can be achieved and the operations and effects can be achieved by performing the processing of each step in time series, the recording according to the present invention is performed. Needless to say, this is an implementation of the method.

(E) A Menu (Chapter Menu) for displaying a list of chapters and a MOVIE object for controlling the behavior thereof may be recorded on the BD-ROM so that the top menu can be branched. Alternatively, it may be called by pressing the Chapter key of the remote control key.
(F) When recording on a BD-ROM, it is desirable to add an extension header to each TS packet constituting an AVClip. The extension header is called TP_extra_header and includes “Arrival_Time_Stamp” and “copy_permission_indicator” and has a data length of 4 bytes. TS packets with TP_extra_header (hereinafter abbreviated as TS packets with EX) are grouped every 32 and written in three sectors. A group of 32 EX-attached TS packets is 6144 bytes (= 32 × 192), which matches three sector sizes of 6144 bytes (= 2048 × 3). 32 EX-attached TS packets contained in 3 sectors are called "Aligned Unit".

  When used in a home network connected via IEEE1394, the playback device 200 transmits Aligned Units by the following transmission process. That is, the sender device removes TP_extra_header from each of the 32 EX-added TS packets included in the Aligned Unit, and encrypts and outputs the TS packet body based on the DTCP standard. When outputting TS packets, isochronous packets are inserted everywhere between TS packets. This insertion location is a position based on the time indicated by Arrival_Time_Stamp of TP_extra_header. With the output of the TS packet, the playback device 200 outputs DTCP_Descriptor. DTCP_Descriptor indicates copy permission / inhibition setting in TP_extra_header. If the DTCP_Descriptor is described so as to indicate “copy prohibited”, TS packets are not recorded in other devices when used in a home network connected via IEEE1394.

  (G) In each embodiment, the digital stream recorded on the recording medium is an AVClip, but may be a VOB (Video Object) of the DVD-Video standard or the DVD-Video Recording standard. A VOB is a program stream compliant with the ISO / IEC13818-1 standard obtained by multiplexing a video stream and an audio stream. The video stream in AVClip may be in MPEG4 or WMV format. Furthermore, the audio stream may be Linear-PCM, Dolby-AC3, MP3, MPEG-AAC, Dts, or WMA (Windows media audio).

(H) The video work in each embodiment may be obtained by encoding an analog video signal broadcast by analog broadcasting. It may be stream data composed of a transport stream broadcast by digital broadcasting.
Further, the content may be obtained by encoding an analog / digital video signal recorded on a video tape. Further, the content may be obtained by encoding an analog / digital video signal taken directly from the video camera. In addition, a digital work distributed by a distribution server may be used.

(I) The BD-J module 35 may be a Java platform incorporated in a device for satellite broadcast reception. If the BD-J module 35 is such a Java platform, the playback apparatus according to the present invention also serves as an MHP STB.
Further, it may be a Java platform embedded in a device for processing control of a mobile phone. If such a BD-J module 35 is such a Java platform, the playback device according to the present invention also serves as a mobile phone.

  (J) In the layer model, the MOVIE mode may be arranged above the BD-J mode. In particular, the interpretation of dynamic scenarios in MOVIE mode and the execution of control procedures based on dynamic scenarios are light on the playback device, so there is no problem even if MOVIE mode is executed on BD-J mode. It is. In addition, when developing a playback device or movie work, one mode of operation is guaranteed.

Furthermore, the playback process may be executed only in the BD-J mode. This is because, as shown in the fifth embodiment, playback control synchronized with PL playback is possible even in the BD-J mode, so that it is unnecessary to provide the MOVIE mode.
(K) A navigation command may be provided in the interactive graphics stream to be multiplexed on the AVClip to realize a branch from one PL to another PL.

  The playback apparatus according to the present invention may be used for personal use, such as use in a home theater system. However, since the internal configuration of the present invention is disclosed in the above-described embodiment, and it is clear that mass production is performed based on this internal configuration, it can be industrially used in qualities. Therefore, the playback apparatus according to the present invention has industrial applicability.

It is a figure which shows the form about the usage act of the reproducing | regenerating apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the file directory structure in BD-ROM. It is a figure which shows the relationship between an AVClip time-axis and PL time-axis. It is a figure which shows the collective designation | designated made by four Clip_Information_file_name. It is a figure which shows the chapter definition by PLmark. It is a figure which shows the reproduction area definition on a SubPlayItem time-axis, and synchronous designation | designated. (A) It is a figure which shows the internal structure of a Movie object.

(B) It is a figure which shows the internal structure of a BD-J object.
(C) It is a figure which shows the internal structure of a Java application.
(A) It is a figure which shows the program and data which are stored in the Java archive file. (B) It is a figure which shows an example of a xlet program. (A) It is a figure which shows a series of titles, such as a top menu, title # 1, and title # 2.

(B) It is a figure which shows the time-axis which added the time-axis of PlayList # 1 and PlayList # 2.
It is a figure which shows the disc content containing three titles, a main title, an online shopping title, and a game title. It is a figure which shows an example of the reproduction | regeneration image of three titles shown in FIG. (A) It is the figure which graphed the lifetime of each application from the attribution relationship shown by the broken line of FIG.

(B) It is a figure which shows an example of the described application management table in order to prescribe | regulate the lifetime of FIG. 12 (a).
(A) It is a figure which shows an example of a starting attribute setting. (B) It is a figure which shows the application (application # 2) started only when there is an application call from another application. (A) (b) It is a figure which shows an example of the application management table and life span in which Suspend becomes significant. It is a figure which shows the combination which can take three modes (Persistent, AutoRun, Suspend) which a starting attribute can take, and three modes (non-starting, starting, Suspend) of the application state in a last title. It is a figure which shows the internal structure of the reproducing | regenerating apparatus based on this invention. (A) It is a figure which shows how the Java archive file which exists in BD-ROM is identified on the local memory 29. FIG.

(B) It is a figure which shows the application of Fig.17 (a).
It is the figure which replaced the part which consists of the software stored in ROM24, and a hardware by the layer structure. It is the figure which modeled the process by Presentation Engine31-module manager 34. FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing processing by an application manager 36. It is a figure which shows the work memory 37-Default Operation Manager40. It is a figure which shows the control procedure at the time of the branch by the application manager. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of an application completion process. It is the figure which showed the process of application termination typically. (A) It is a figure which shows the application management table which defined the lifetime on the PL time axis.

(B) It is the figure which showed the lifetime of the application based on the application management table of Fig.25 (a).
(A) The title time axis determined from the PL time axis is shown. (B) The title time axis determined from the life cycle of the main application is shown. (C) It is a figure which shows the title time axis determined from the lifetime of multiple applications. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the application manager 36 at the time of title reproduction | regeneration. (A) It is a figure which shows the menu hierarchy implement | achieved by BD-ROM.

(B) It is a figure which shows the MOVIE object for implement | achieving a menu hierarchy.
It is the figure which modeled the Index Table and the branch from Index Table to each Movie object. (A) A branch when the Index Table is described as shown in FIG. 29B is shown.

(B) It is a figure showing a branch when a non-AV system title is forcibly terminated.
4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a module manager 34. It is a figure which shows the operation example of the application forced termination by the application manager. 10 is a flowchart showing a PL playback procedure by the Playback Control Engine 32. It is a flowchart which shows the reception procedure of angle switching, SkipBack, and SkipNext. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence when SkipBack and SkipNextAPI are called. 3 is a flowchart showing details of a processing procedure by the Presentation Engine 31. It is a flowchart which shows the reproduction | regeneration procedure of SubPlayItem. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the application manager 36 which concerns on 5th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a data management table. It is a figure which shows the execution model which the BD-J object assumes. (A) It is a figure which shows the lifetime which shows Java archive file survival in the local memory 29. FIG.

(B) It is a figure which shows the data management table described in order to prescribe | regulate the Java archive file lifetime in FIG. 41 (a).
It is a figure which shows Java archive file embedding by carouselization. (A) It is a figure which shows AVClip embedding by interleaving.

(B) It is a figure which shows three types of a read attribute.
(A) It is a figure which shows an example of a data management table. (B) It is a figure which shows the transition of the storage content of the local memory 29 by the allocation of the data management table of Fig.44 (a). (A) It is a figure which compares and shows the memory scale of the local memory 29 in an old and new reproducing | regenerating apparatus.

(B) It is a figure which shows an example of the data management table in which the read priority was set.
It is a figure which shows the process sequence of the preload control by the application manager. (A) It is a figure which shows an example of the data management table which prescribes | regulates several applications from which reading ID differs although applicationID is the same.

(B) It is a figure which shows transition of the storage content of the local memory 29 by the allocation of the data management table of Fig.47 (a).
(A) It is a figure which shows an example of the data management table described so that the same applicationID might be provided to the application which should be preloaded and the application which should be loaded.

(B) It is a figure which shows transition of the storage content of the local memory 29 in the reproducing | regenerating apparatus with a small memory scale.
(C) It is a figure which shows transition of the storage content of the local memory 29 in the reproducing | regenerating apparatus with a large memory scale.
It is a figure which shows the process sequence of the load process by the application manager 36 based on a data management table. It is a figure which shows the process sequence by the application manager 36 when the present reproduction | regeneration time arrives at the lifetime of application q. It is the figure which modeled how the reading of the application by the Java virtual machine 38 is performed. (A) It is a figure which shows the internal structure of the BD-J object which concerns on 7th Embodiment.

(B) It is a figure which shows an example of a playlist management table.
(C) It is a figure which shows what kind of processing a reproducing | regenerating apparatus performs when there exists PL with which the reproduction | regeneration attribute was set to AutoPlay in the play list management table of a branch destination title.
(A) It is a figure which shows the title time-axis in a non-AV type title when a reproduction | regeneration attribute is set so that non-automatic reproduction may be shown.

(B) It is a figure which shows the title time-axis of the non-AV type | system | group title with which the reproduction | regeneration attribute was set to AutoPlay.
(C) It is a figure which shows the case where a reproduction | regeneration attribute is set to show "AutoPlay" in a play list management table, and an application is forcibly terminated.
(D) It is a figure which shows the case where the reproduction | regeneration attribute was set to show "AutoPlay" in a play list management table, and starting of a main application failed.
It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the application manager 36 which concerns on 7th Embodiment. It is the figure which modeled what kind of reproduction | regeneration is performed by being set to "reproduction | regeneration attribute = AutoPlay" in a play list management table. (A) (b) It is the figure which showed the relationship between the handling of an application, and a starting attribute. It is the figure which modeled how the reading of the application by the Java virtual machine 38 which concerns on 8th Embodiment is performed. (A) (b) It is a figure which shows an example of the read priority which concerns on 9th Embodiment. (A) It is a figure which shows the data management table to which the group attribute was provided.

(B) It is a figure which shows the access with respect to the local memory 29 based on an application management table.
It is a figure which shows the variation of the allocation unit of an application management table.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 BD-ROM drive 2 Read buffer 3 Demultiplexer 4 Video decoder 5 Video plane 9 P-Graphics decoder 10 Presentation Graphics plane 11 Composition part 12 Font generator 13 I-Graphics decoder 14 Switch 15 Interactive Graphics plane 16 Composition part 17 HDD
18 Read buffer 19 Demultiplexer 20 Audio decoder 21 Scenario memory 22 CPU
23 Key event processing section 24 Instruction ROM
25 switch 26 CLUT part 27 CLUT part 28 PSR set 29 local memory 31 Presentation Engine
32 Playback Control Engine 33 HDMV Module 34 Module Manager 36 Application Manager 37 Work Memory 38 Java Virtual Machine 39 Event Listner Manager
40 Default Operation Manage

Claims (4)

A recording medium on which an index table, an application, and an operation mode object are recorded,
The index table shows the title, together with indicates to the correspondence between the operation mode object, whether the operation mode object that corresponds to each title is either a Movie mode and the virtual machine mode,
The operation mode object for the movie mode includes a navigation command representing a control procedure,
The operation mode object for the virtual machine mode includes an application management table,
The application is a program written in a programming language for virtual machines,
The application management table indicates one or more applications to be controlled by managing the title corresponding to the operation mode object as a life cycle,
Applications shown in the application management table are
A recording medium that is an application that is not automatically activated but can be activated in response to an application call from another application. A playback device that plays back a title recorded on a recording medium and executes an application,
Based on the index table, a module manager that selects a current title that is a title to be played from a plurality of titles,
A module for executing the application,
In the recording medium, an index table, an application, and an operation mode object are recorded,
The index table shows the title, together with indicates to the correspondence between the operation mode object, whether the operation mode object that corresponds to each title is either a Movie mode and the virtual machine mode,
The operation mode object for the movie mode includes a navigation command representing a control procedure,
The operation mode object for the virtual machine mode includes an application management table,
The application is a program written in a programming language for virtual machines,
The application management table indicates one or more applications to be controlled by managing the title corresponding to the operation mode object as a life cycle,
The application shown in the application management table is an application that is not automatically started but can be started in response to an application call from another application.
The module is
A playback apparatus comprising: an application manager that starts an application whose life span is a current title and is not automatically started in response to an application call from another application. A recording method for generating volume data and obtaining a recording medium on which the volume data is recorded,
Volume data, and the index table, and the application, the index table includes an operation mode object, a title, a correspondence between the operation mode object with indicate to the operation mode object that corresponds to each title, for movie mode And for virtual machine mode,
The operation mode object for the movie mode includes a navigation command representing a control procedure,
The operation mode object for the virtual machine mode includes an application management table,
The application is a program written in a programming language for virtual machines,
The application management table indicates one or more applications to be controlled by managing the title corresponding to the operation mode object as a life cycle,
Applications shown in the application management table are
A recording method characterized by being an application that is not automatically started but can be started in response to an application call from another application. A playback method for playing back a title recorded on a recording medium and executing an application,
Based on the index table, a manager step for selecting a current title that is a title to be played from a plurality of titles,
Module steps to execute the application,
In the recording medium, an index table, an application, and an operation mode object are recorded.
The index table shows the title, together with indicates to the correspondence between the operation mode object, whether the operation mode object that corresponds to each title is either a Movie mode and the virtual machine mode,
The operation mode object for the movie mode includes a navigation command representing a control procedure,
The operation mode object for the virtual machine mode includes an application management table,
The application is a program written in a programming language for virtual machines,
The application management table indicates one or more applications to be controlled by managing the title corresponding to the operation mode object as a life cycle,
The application shown in the application management table is an application that is not automatically started but can be started in response to an application call from another application.
The module step includes
A playback method characterized in that an application whose current title is a life cycle and which is not automatically started is started in response to an application call from another application.

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